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EPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


UC-NRLF 


M  M 

7D 


CATALOGU£R1mTURArl 

LIBRARY, 

UNIVERS 

c  A  LI  FOR: 


ECONOMIC   PLANTS 


IN  TIlii   COl.i  F.CTIOS   MF   THE 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


BY  WILLIAM    8AUNDER3. 


PUBLISH  IZD  BY  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


c\j 
o 


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WASHIKGTON: 

GOVERNMENT   PRINTING  OF1 
1891. 


Itea  I 


U.S. DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


CATALOGUE 


OF 


ECONOMIC    PLANTS 


IN  THE   COLLECTION   OF  THE 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


BY   WILLIAM   SAUNDERS. 


PUBLISHED  BY  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OP  AGRICULTURE. 


WASHINGTON: 
GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE, 


4^ 


CATALOGUE  OF  ECONOMIC  PLANTS  IN  THE  COLLECTION  OF  THE  U.  S. 
DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE, 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  June  5,  1891. 

SIR:  I  have  duly  prepared  by  your  direction  a  descriptive  list  of 
the  more  important  economic  plants  at  present  contained  in  the  col- 
lection of  the  Department,  in  such  a  form  as  will,  in  my  opinion, 
most  satisfactorily  meet  the  wants  of  the  numerous  visitors  and 
others  interested  in  the  work  performed  by  the  Department  in  this 
direction,  and  I  beg  to  submit  the  same  herewith  for  publication. 

WILLIAM  SAUNDERS, 
Superintendent  of  Gardens  and  Grounds. 
Hon.  J.  M.  RUSK, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 


DESCRIPTIVE  CATALOGUE  OP  PLANTS. 

1.  ABELMOSCHUS  MOSCHATUS.— This  plant  is  a  native  of  Bengal.    Its  seeds  were 

formerly  mixed  with  hair  powder,  and  are  still  used  to  perfume  pomatum. 
The  Arabs  mix  them  with  their  coffee  berries.  In  the  West  Indies  the 
bruised  seeds,  steeped  in  rum,  are  used,  both  externally  and  internally,  as  a 
cure  for  snake  bites. 

2.  ABRUS  PBECATORIUS. — Wild  liquorice.     This  twining,  leguminous  plant  is  a 

native  of  the  East,  but  is  now  found  in  the  West  Indies  and  other  tropical 
regions.  It  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  its  small  oval  seeds,  which  are  of  a 
brilliant  scarlet  color,  with  a  black  scar  at  the  place  where  they  are  attached 
to  the  pods.  These  seeds  are  much  used  for  necklaces  and  other  ornamental 
purposes,  and  are  employed  in  India  as  a  standard  of  weight,  under  the  name 
of  Rati.  The  weight  of  the  famous  Kohinoor  diamond  is  known  to  have 
been  ascertained  in  this  way.  The  roots  afford  liquorice,  which  is  extracted 
in  the  same  manner  as  that  from  the  true  Spanish  liquorice  plant,  the  Gly- 
cyrrhiza  glabra.  Recently  the  claim  was  made  that  the  weather  could  be 
foretold  by  certain  movements  of  the  leaves  of  this  plant,  but  experimental 
tests  have  proved  its  fallacy. 

3.  ABUTILON  INDICUM. — This  plant  furnishes  fiber  fit  for  the  manufacture  of  ropes. 

Its  leaves  contain  a  large  quantity  of  mucilage. 

4.  ABUTILON  VENOSUM. — This  malvaceous  plant  is  common  in  collections,  as  are 

others  of  the  genus.  They  are  mostly  fiber-producing  species.  The  flowers 
of  A.  esculentum  are  used  as  a  vegetable  in  Brazil. 

5.  ACACIA  BRASILIENSIS. — This  plant  furnishes  the  Brazil  wood,  which  yields  a  red 

or  crimson  dye,  and  is  used  for  dyeing  silks.  The  best  quality  is  that  received 
from  Pernambuco. 

6.  ACACIA  CATECHU. — The  drug  known  as  catechu  is  principally  prepared  from 

this  tree,  the  wood  of  which  is  boiled  down,  and  the  decoction  subsequently 
evaporated  so  as  to  form  an  extract  much  used  as  an  astringent.  The  aca- 
cia-art- very  numerous,  and  yield  many  useful  products.  Gum  arable  is  pro- 
duced by  several  species,  as  A.  vera,  A.  Arabica,  A.  Adansonii,  A.  verek,  and 
others.  It  is  obtained  by  spontaneous  exudation  from  the  trunk  and  branches, 
or  by  incisions  made  in  the  bark,  from  whence  it  flows  in  a  liquid  state,  but 

3 

171708 


»  soon  hafdenfr  by  exposure  t<>  the  air.  The  largest  quantity  of  the  gum  comes 
;\frc^Rw'fcary:  :  Crum-senegal  is  produced  by  A.  vera.  By  some  it  is  thought 
that  the  timberof  >At  Arabica  is  identical  with  the  Shittim  tree,  or  wood  of  the 
Bible.  From  the  'flowers  of  A.  farnesiana  a  choice  and  delicious  perfume  is 
obtained,  the  chief  ingredient  in  many  valued  "  balm  of  a  thousand  flowers." 
The  pods  of  A.  concinna  are  used  in  India  as  a  soap  for  washing  ;  the  leaves 
are  used  for  culinary  purposes,  and  have  a  peculiarly  agreeable  acid  taste. 
The  seeds  of  some  species  are  used,  when  cooked,  as  articles  of  food.  From 
the  seeds  of  A.  Niopo  the  Guahibo  Indians  prepare  a  snuff,  by  roasting  the 
seeds  and  pounding  them  in  a  wooden  platter.  Its  effects  are  to  produce  a 
kind  of  intoxication  and  invigorate  the  spirits.  The  bark  of  several  species 
is  extensively  used  for  tanning,  and  the  timber,  being  tough  and  elastic,  is 
valuable  for  the  manufacture  of  machinery  and  other  purposes  where  great 
strength  and  durability  are  requisite. 

7.  ACACIA  DEAL  BATA.—  The  silver  wattle  tree  of  Australia.    The  bark  is  used  for 

tanning  purposes.     It  is  hardy  South. 

8.  ACACIA  HOMOLOPHYLLA.—  This  tree  furnishes  the  scented  myall  wood,  a  very 

hard  and  heavy  wood,  of  an  agreeable  odor,  resembling  that  of  violets. 
Fancy  boxes  for  the  toilet  are  manufactured  of  it. 

9.  ACACIA  MELANOXYLON.  —  The  wood  of  this  tree  is  called  mayall  wood  in  New 

South  Wales.  It  is  also  called  violet  wood,  on  account  of  the  strong  odor  it 
has  of  that  favorite  flower;  hence  it  is  in  great  repute  for  making  small 
dressing  cases,  etc. 

10.  ACACIA  MOLLISSIMA.—  The  black  wattle  tree  of  Australia,  which  furnishes  a 

good  tanning  principle.  These  trees  were  first  called  wattles  from  being 
used  by  the  early  settlers  for  forming  a  network  or  wattling  of  the  supple 
twigs  as  a  substitute  for  laths  in  plastering  houses. 

11.  ACROCOMIA  SCLEROCARPA.  —  This  palm  grows  all  over  South  America.     It  is 

known  as  the  great  macaw-tree.  A  sweetish-tasted  oil,  called  Mucaja  oil, 
is  extracted  from  the  fruit  and  is  used  for  making  toilet  soaps. 

12.  ADANSONIA  DIGITATA.  —  The  baobab  tree,  a  native  of  Africa.    It  has  been  called 

the  tree  of  a  thousand  years,  and  Humboldt  speaks  of  it  as  "  the  oldest  or- 
ganic monument  of  our  planet."  Adanson,  who  traveled  in  Senegal  in  1794, 
made  a  calculation  to  show  that  one  of  these  trees,  30  feet  in  diameter,  must 
be  5,150  years  old.  The  bark  of  the  baobab  furnishes  a  fiber  which  is  made 
into  ropes  and  also  manufactured  into  cloth.  The  fiber  is  so  strong  as  to  give 
rise  to  a  common  saying  in  Bengal,  "  as  secure  as  an  elephant  bound  with 
baobab  rope."  The  pulp  of  the  fruit  is  slightly  acid,  and  the  juice  expressed 
from  it  is  valued  as  a  specific  in  putrid  and  pestilential  fevers.  The  ashes  of 
the  fruit  and  bark,  boiled  in  rancid  palm  oil,  make  a  fine  soap. 

13.  ADENANTHERA  PAVONINA.  —  A  tree  that  furnishes  red  sandal  wood.    A  dye  is 

obtained  simply  by  rubbing  the  wood  against  a  wet  stone,  which  is  used  by 
the  Brahmins  for  marking  their  foreheads  after  religious  bathing.  The  seeds 
are  used  by  Indian  jewelers  as  weights,  each  seed  weighing  uniformly  four 
grains.  They  are  known  as  Circassian  beans.  Pounded  and  mixed  with  bo- 
rax, they  form  an  adhesive  substance.  They  are  sometimes  used  as  food. 
The  plant  belongs  to  the  Leguminosae. 

14.  ADHATODA  VASICA.—  This  plant  is  extolled  for  its  charcoal  in  the  manufacture 

of  powder.  The  flowers,  leaves,  roots,  and  especially  the  fruit,  are  con- 
sidered antispasmodic,  and  are  administered  in  India  in  asthma  and  intermit- 
tent fevers. 


15.  ^EGLE  MARMELOS.  —  This  plant  belongs  to  the  orange  family,  and  its  fruit  is 

known  in  India  as  Bhel  fruit.  It  is  like  an  orange  ;  the  thick  rind  of  the 
unripe  fruit  possesses  astringent  properties,  and.  when  ripe,  has  an  exquisite 
flavor  and  perfume.  The  fruit  and  other  parts  of  the  plant  are  used  for 
medicinal  purposes,  and  a  yellow  dye  is  prepared  from  the  skin  of  the  fruits. 

16.  AGAVE  AMERICANA.  —  This  plant  is  commonly  known  as  American  aloe,  but  it 

is  not  a  member  of  that  family,  as  it  claims  kindred  with  the  Amaryllis  tribe 
of  plants.  It  grows  naturally  in  a  wide  range  of  climate,  from  the  plains  of 
South  America  to  elevations  of  10,000  feet.  It  furnishes  a  variety  of  prod- 
ucts. The  plants  form  impenetrable  fences;  the  leaves  furnish  fibers  of 
various  qualities,  from  the  fine  thread  known  as  pita-thread,  which  is  used  for 
twine,  to  the  coarse  fibers  used  for  ropes  and  cables.  Humboldt  describes  a 
bridge  of  upward  of  130  feet  span  over  the  Chimbo  in  Quito,  of  which  the 
main  ropes  (4  inches  in  diameter)  were  made  of  this  fiber.  It  is  also  used  for 
making  paper,  The  juice,  when  the  watery  part  is  evaporated,  forms  a  good 


soap  (as  detergent  as  castile),  and  will  mix  and  form  a  lather  with  salt  water 
as  well  as  with  fresh.  The  sap  from  the  heart  leaves  is  formed  into  pulque. 
rl'li  is  sap  is  sour,  but  has  sufficient  sugar  and  mucilage  for  fermentation. 
This  vinous  beverage  has  a  filthy  odor,  but  those  who  can  overcome  the 
av.T-ion  to  this  fetidsmell  indulge  largely  in  the  liquor.  A  very  intoxicating 
brandy  is  made  from  it.  Razor  strops  are  made  from  the  leaves  ;  they  are 
also  used  for  cleaning  and  scouring  pewter. 

17.  AGAVE  RIGIDA.— The  sisal  hemp,  introduced  into  Florida  many  years  ago, 

for  the  sake  of  its  fiber,  but  its  cultivation  has  not  been  prosecuted  to  a  com- 
1 1 11  -rcial  success.  Like  many  other  of  the  best  vegetable  fibers  found  in  leaves, 
it  contains  a  gummy  substance,  which  prevents  the  easy  separation  of  the 
fiber  from  the  pulp. 

18.  ALEURITES  TRILOBA. — The  candleberry  tree,  much  cultivated  in  tropical  coun- 

tries for  the  sake  of  its  nuts.  The  nuts  or  kernels,  when  dried  and  stuck  on  a 
reed,  are  used  by  the  Polynesians  as  a  substitute  for  candles  and  as  an  article  of 
food;  they  are  said  to  taste  like  walnuts.  When  pressed,  they  yield  largely  of 
pure  palatable  oil,  as  a  drying  oil  for  paint,  and  known  as  artists'  oil.  The 
cake,  after  the  oil  has  been  expressed,  is  a  favorite  food  for  cattle.  The  root 
of  the  tree  affords  a  brown  dye,  which  is  used  to  dye  cloths. 

19.  ALGAROBIA  GLANDULOSA. — The  mezquite  tree,  of  Texas,  occasionally  reaching  a 

height  of  25  to  30  feet.  It  yields  a  very  hard,  durable  wood,  and  affords  a  large 
quantity  of  gum  resembling  gum  arabic,  and  answering  every  purpose  of  that 
gum. 

20!  ALLAMANDA  CATHARTICA.— This  plant  belongs  to  the  family  of  Apocynacece, 
which  contains  many  poisonous  species.  It  is  often  cultivated  for  the  beauty 
of  its  flowers;  the  leaves  are  considered  a  valuable  cathartic,  in  moderate 
doses,  especially  in  the  cure  of  painter's  colic;  in  large  doses  they  are  violently 
emetic.  It  is  a  native  of  South  America. 

21.  ALOE  SOCOTRINA.— Bitter  aloe,  a  plant  of  the  lily  family,  which  furnishes  the 

finest  aloes.  The  bitter,  resinous  juice  is  stored  up  in  greenish  vessels,  lying 
beneath  the  skin  of  the  leaf,  so  that  when  the  leaves  are  cut  transversely,  the 
juice  exudes,  and  is  gradually  evaporated  to  a  firm  consistence.  The  inferior 
kinds  of  aloes  are  prepared  by  pressing  the  leaves,  when  the  resinous  juice 
becomes  mixed  with  the  mucilaginous  fluid  from  the  central  part  of  the  leaves, 
and  thus  it  is  proportionately  deteriorated.  Sometimes  the  leaves  are  cut  and 
boiled,  and  the  decoction  evaporated  to  a  proper  consistence.  This  drug  is 
imported  in  chests,  in  skins  of  animals,  and  sometimes  in  large  calabash- 
gourds,  and  although  the  taste  is  peculiarly  bitter  and  disagreeable,  the  per- 
fume of  the  finer  sorts  is  aromatic,  and  by  no  means  offensive.  It  is  common 
in  tropical  countries. 

22.  ALSOPHILA  AUSTRALIS.— This  beautiful  tree-fern  attains  a  height  of  stem  of  25 

to  30  feet,  with  fronds  spreading  out  into  a  crest  26  feet  in  diameter.  These 
plants  are  among  the  most  beautiful  of  all  vegetable  productions,  and  in  their 
gigantic  forms  indicate,  in  a  meager  degree,  the  extraordinary  beauty  of  the 
vegetation  on  the  globe  previous  to  the  formation  of  the  coal  measures. 

20.  ALSTONIA  SCHOLARIS. — The  Pali-mara,  or  devil  tree,  of  Bombay.    The  plant 

attains  a  height  of  80  or  90  feet;  the  bark  is  powerfully  bitter,  and  is  used  in 
India  in  medicine.  It  is  of  the  family  of  Apocynacece. 

24.  AMOMUM  MELEGUETTA. — Malaguetta  pepper,  or  grains  of  paradise;  belonging 

to  the  ginger  family,  Zingiberacece.  The  seeds  of  this  and  other  species  are 
imported  from  Guinea;  they  have  a  very  warm  and  camphor-like  taste,  and 
are  used  to  give  a  fictitious  strength  to  adulterated  liquors,  but  are  not  con- 
sidered particularly  injurious  to  health.  The  seeds  are  aromatic  and  stimu- 
lating, and  form,  with  other  seeds  of  similar  plants,  what  are  known  as  car- 
damoms. 

25.  AMYRIS  BALSAMIFERA.—  This  plant  yields  the  wood  called  Lignum  Rhodium. 

It  also  furnishes  a  gum  resin  analogous  to  Elemi,  and  supposed  to  yield  In- 
dian Bdellium. 

20.  ANACARDIUM  OCCIDENT  ALE. — The  cashew  nut  tree,  cultivated  in  the  West  Indies 
and  other  tropical  countries.  The  stem  furnishes  a  milky  juice,  which  be- 
comes hard  and  black  when  dry,  and  is  used  as  a  varnish.  It  also  secretes 
a  gum,  like  gum  arabic.  The  nut  or  fruit  contains  a  black,  acrid,  caustic  oil, 
injurious  to  the  lips  and  tongue  of  those  who  attempt  to  crack  the  nut  with 
tht-ir  tcrth:  it  becomes  innocuous  and  wholesome  when' roasted,  but  this 
process  must  be  carefully  conducted,  the  acridity  of  the  fumes  producing 
severe  inflammation  of  the  face  if  approached  too  near. 


27.  ANANASSA  SATIVA.—  The  well-known  pineapple,  the  fruit  of  which  was  de- 

scribed three  hundred  years  ago,  by  Jeande  Lery,  a  Huguenot  priest,  as  being 
of  such  excellence  that  the  gods  might  luxuriate  upon  it,  and  that  it  should 
only  be  gathered  by  the  hand  of  a  Venus.  It  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of 
Brazil,  and  to  have 'been  carried  from  thence  to  the  West,  and  afterwards  to 
the  East  Indies.  It  first  became  known  to  Europeans  in  Peru.  It  is  univer- 
sally acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the  most  delicious  fruits  in  the  world.  Like 
all  other  fruits  that  have  been  a  long  time  under  cultivation,  there  are  numer- 
ous varieties  that  vary  greatly,  both  in  quality  and  appearance.  The  leaves 
yield  a  fine  fiber,  which  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  pina  cloth;  this  cloth 
is  very  delicate,  soft,  and  transparent,  and  is  made  into  shawls,  scarfs,  hand- 
kerchiefs, and  dresses. 

28.  ANDIRA  INERMIS.— This  is  a  native  of  Senegambia.    Its  bark  is  anthelmintic, 

but  requires  care  in  its  administration,  being  powerfully  narcotic.  It  has  a 
sweetish  taste,  but  a  disagreeable  smell,  and  is  generally  given  in  the  form  of 
a  decoction,  which  is  made  by  boiling  an  ounce  of  the  dried  bark  in  a  quart 
of  water  until  it  assumes  the  color  of  Madeira  wine.  Three  or  four  grains  of 
the  powdered  bark  acts  as  a  powerful  purgative.  The  bark  is  known  as 
bastard  cabbage  bark,  or  worm  bark.  It  is  almost  obsolete  in  medicine. 

29.  ANDROPOGON  MURICATUS.—  The  Khus-Khus,  or  Vetiver  grass  of  India.    The 

fibrous  roots  yield  a  most  peculiar  but  pleasing  perfume.  In  India  the  leaves 
are  manufactured  into'  awnings,  blinds,  and  sunshades;  but  principally  for 
screens,  used  in  hot  weather  for  doors  and  windows,  which,  when  wetted, 
diffuse  a  peculiar  and  refreshing  perfume,  while  cooling  the  air. 

30.  ANDROPOGON  SCH^ENANTHUS. — The   sweet-scented   lemon  grass,  a  native  of 

Malabar.  An  essential  oil  is  distilled  from  the  leaves,  which  is  used  in  per- 
fumery. It  is  a  favorite  herb  with  the  Asiatics,  both  for  medicinal  and  cu- 
linary purposes.  Tea  from  the  dried  leaves  is  a  favorite  beverage  of  some 
persons. 

31.  ANONA  CHERIMOLIA.— The  Cherimoyer  of  Peru,  where  it  is  extensively  cultivated 

for  its  fruits,  which  are  highly  esteemed  by  the  inhabitants,  but  not  so  highly 
valued  by  those  accustomed  to  the  fruits  of  temperate  climates.  The  fruit, 
when  ripe,  is  of  a  pale  greenish-yellow  color,  tinged  with  purple,  weighing 
from  3  to  4  pounds;  the  skin  thin;  the  flesh  sweet,  and  about  the  consistence 
of  a  custard;  hence  often  called  custard  apple. 

32.  ANONA  MURICATA. — The  sour-sop,  a  native  of  the  West  Indies,  which  produces 

a  fruit  of  considerable  size,  often  weighing  over  2  pounds.  The  pulp  is 
white  and  has  an  acrid  flavor,  which  is  not  disagreeable. 

33.  ANONA  RETICULATA. — The  common  custard  apple  of  the  West  Indies.   It  has  a  yel- 

lowish pulp  and  is  not  so  highly  esteemed  as  an  article  of  food  as  some  others 
of  the  species.  It  bears  the  name  of  Condissa  in  Brazil.  The  Anonas  are 
grown  to  some  extent  throughout  southern  Florida. 

34.  ANONA  SQUAMOSA. — The  sweet-sop,  a  native  of  the  Malay  Islands,  where  it  is 

grown  for  its  fruits.  These  are  ovate  in  shape,  with  a  thick  rind,  which  in- 
closes a  luscious  pulp.  The  seeds  contain  an  acrid  principle,  and,  being  re- 
duced to  powder,  form  an  ingredient  for  the  destruction  of  insects. 

35.  ANTIARIS  INNOXIA.— The  upas  tree.    Most  exaggerated  statements  respecting 

this  plant  have  passed  into  history.  Its  poisonous  influence  was  said  to  be  so 
great  as  not  only  to  destroy  all  animal  life  but  even  plants  could  not  live 
within  10  miles  of  it.  The  plant  has  no  such  virulent  properties  as  the  above, 
but,  as  it  inhabits  low  valleys  in  Java  where  carbonic  acid  gas  escapes  from 
the  crevices  in  volcanic  rocks  which  frequently  proves  fatal  to  animals,  the 
tree  was  blamed  wrongly.  It  is,  however,  possessed  of  poisonous  juice,  which, 
when  dry  and  mixed  with  other  ingredients,  forms  a  venomous  poison  for 
arrows,  and  severe  effects  have  been  felt  by  those  who  have  climbed  upon 
the  branches  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  the  flowers. 

36.  ANTIARIS  SACCIDORA. — The  sack  tree;   so  called  from  the  fibrous  bark  being 

used  as  sacks.  For  this  purpose  young  trees  of  about  a  foot  in  diameter  are 
selected  and  cut  into  junks  of  the  same  length  as  the  sack  required.  The 
outer  bark  is  then  removed  and  the  inner  bark  loosened  by  pounding,  so  that 
it  can  be  separated  by  turning  it  inside  out.  Sometimes  a  small  piece  of  the 
wood  is  left  to  form  the  bottom  of  the  sack.  The  fruit  exudes  a  milky, 
viscid  juice,  which  hardens  into  the  consistency  of  beeswax,  but  becomes 
black  and  shining. 

37.  ANTIDESMA   BUNIAS. — An  East  India  plant  which  produces  small,  intensely 

black  fruit  about  the  size  of  a  currant,  used  in  making  preserves.     The  bark 


furnisher  a  good  fiber,  which  is  utilized  in  the  manufacture  of  ropes.  A 
decoction  of  the  leaves  is  a  reputed  cure  for  snake  bites.  The  whole  plant 
is  very  bitter. 

33.  ARALIA  PAPYRIFF.KA. — The  Chinese  rice  paper  plant.  The  stems  are  filled  with 
pith  of  very  tine  texture  and  white  as  snow,  from  which  is  derived  the  article 
known  as  rice  paper,  much  used  in  preparing  artificial  flowers. 

39.  ARAUCARIA  BIDWILLI.— The  Bunya-Bunya  of  Australia,  which  forms  a  large  tree, 

reaching  from  150  to  200  feet  in  height.  The  cones  are  very  large,  and  con- 
tain  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  seeds,  which  are  highly  prized 
by  the  aborigines  as  food.  They  are  best  when  roasted  in  the  shell,  cracked 
l>etween  two  stones  and  eaten  while  hot.  In  flavor  they  resemble  roasted 
chestnuts.  During  the  season  of  the  ripening  of  these  seeds  the  natives  grow 
sleek  and  fat.  That  part  of  the  country  where  these  trees  most  abound  is 
called  the  Bunya-Bunya  country. 

40.  ARAUCARIA  BRASILIENSIS. — The  Brazilian  Araucaria,  which  grows  at  great  ele- 

vations. The  seeds  of  this  tree  are  commonly  sold  in  the  markets  of  Rio 
Janeiro  as  an  article  of  food.  The  resinous  matter  which  exudes  from  the 
trunk  is  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  candles. 

41.  ARAUCARIA  CUNNINGHAMI. — The  Morton  Bay  pine.    This  Australian  tree  forms 

a  very  straight  trunk,  and  yields  a  timber  of  much  commercial  importance 
in  Sidney  and  other  ports.  It  is  chiefly  used  for  house  building  and  some  of 
the  heavier  articles  of  furniture. 

42.  ARAUCARIA  EXCELSA. — This  very  elegant  evergreen  is  a  native  of  Norfolk 

Island.  Few  plants  can  compare  with  it  in  beauty  and  regularity  of  growth. 
The  wood  is  of  no  particular  value,  although  used  for  building  purposes  in 
Norfolk  Island. 

43.  ARDISIA  CRENATA. — A  native  of  China.     The  bark  has  tonic  and  astringent 

properties,  and  is  used  in  fevers  and  for  external  application  in  the  cure  of 
ulcers,  etc. 

44.  ARECA  CATECHU. — This  palm  is  cultivated  in  all  the  warmer  parts  of  Asia  for 

its  seed.  This  is  known  under  the  name  of  betel  nut,  and  is  about  the  size  of 
a  nutmeg.  The  chewing  of  these  nuts  is  a  common  practice  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  people.  The  nut  is  cut  into  small  pieces,  mixed  with  a  small 
quantity  of  lime,  and  rolled  up  in  leaves  of  the  betel  pepper.  The  pellet  is 
chewed,  and  is  hot  and  acrid,  but  possesses  aromatic  and  astringent  proper- 
ties. It  tinges  the  saliva  red  and  stains  the  teeth.  The  practice  is  considered 
beneficial  rather  than  otherwise,  just  as  chewing  tobacco-leaves,  drinking  al- 
cohol, and  eating  chicken-salad  are  considered  healthful  practices  in  some 
portions  of  the  globe.  A  kind  of  catechu  is  obtained  by  boiling  down  the 
seeds  to  the  consistence  of  an  extract,  but  the  chief  supply  of  this  drug  is  Aca- 
cia catechu. 

45.  ARGANIA  SIDEROXYLON. — This  is  the  argan  tree  of  Morocco.    It  is  remarkable 

for  its  low^-spreading  mode  of  growth.  Trees  have  been  measured  only  16 
feet  in  height,  while  the  circumference  of  the  branches  was  220  feet.  The 
fruit  is  much  eaten  and  relished  by  cattle.  The  wood  is  hard  and  so  heavy  as 
to  sink  in  water.  A  valuable  oil  is  extracted  from  the  seeds. 

46.  ARISTOLOCHIA  GRANDIFLORA.— The  pelican  flower.   This  plant  belongs  to  a  fam- 

ily famed  for  the  curious  construction  of  their  flowers,  as  well  as  for  their 
medical  qualities.  In  tropical  America  various  species  receive  the  name  of 
"  Guaco,"  which  is  a  term  given  to  plants  that  are  used  in  the  cure  of  snake 
bites.  Even  some  of  our  native  species,  such  as  A.  serpentaria,  is  known  as 
snake-root,  and  is  said  t  o  be  esteemed  for  curing  the  bite  of  the  rattlesnake. 
It  is  stated  that  the  Egyptian  jugglers  use  some  of  these  plants  to  stupify  the 
snakes  before  they  handle  them.  A.  bracteata  and  A.  indica  are  used  for 
similar  purposes  in' India.  It  is  said  that  the  juice  of  the  root  of  A.  anguicida, 
if  introduced  into  the  mouth  of  a  serpent,  so  stupefies  it  that  it  may  be  han- 
dled with  impunity.  The  Indians,  after  having  "  guaconized  "  themselves, 
that  is,  having  taken  Guaco,  handle  the  most  venomous  snakes  without  in- 
jury. 

47.  ARTANTHE  ELONGATA. — A  plant  of  the  pepper  family,  which  furnishes  one  of 

the  articles  known  by  the  Peruvians  as  Matico,  and  which  is  used  by  them 
for  the  same  purposes  as  cubebs:  I  nit  its  chief  value  is  as  a  styptic,  an  effect 
probably  produced  by  its  nmuli  under  surface,  acting  mechanically  like  lint. 
It  has  been  employed  internally  to  check  hemorrhages,  but  with  doubtful 


8 

effect.  Its  aromatic  bitter  stimulant  properties  are  like  those  of  cubebs,  and 
depend  on  a  volatile  oil,  a  dark-green  resin,  and  a  peculiar  bitter  principle 
called  maticin. 

48.  ARTOCARPUS  INCISA. — This  is  the  breadfruit  tree  of  the  South  Sea  Islands, 

where  its  introduction  gave  occasion  for  the  historical  incidents  arising  from 
the  mutiny  of  the  "  Bounty."  The  round  fruits  contain  a  white  pulp,  of  the 
consistence  of  new  bread.  It  is  roasted  before  being  eaten,  but  has  little 
flavor.  The  tree  furnishes  a  viscid  juice  containing  caoutchouc,  which  is 
used  as  glue  for  calking  canoes.  In  the  South  Sea  Islands  the  breadfruit 
constitutes  the  principal  article  of  diet;  it  is  prepared  by  baking  in  an  oven 
heated  by  hot  stones. 

49.  ARTOCAIIPUS  INTEGRIFOLIA. — The  jack  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,  cultivated 

for  its  fruit,  which  is  a  favorite  article  among  the  natives,  as  also  are  the 
roasted  seeds.  The  wood  is  much  used,  and  resembles  mahogany.  Bird-lime 
is  made  from  the  juice. 

50.  ASTROCARYUM  VULGARE. — Every  part  of  this  South  American  palm  is  covered 

with  sharp  spines.  It  is  cultivated  to  some  extent  by  the  Indians  of  Brazil  for 
the  sake  of  its  young  leaves,  which  furnish  a  strong  fiber  for  making  bow- 
strings, fishing  nets,  etc.  The  finer  threads  are  knitted  into  hammocks,  which 
are  of  great  strength.  It  is  known  as  Tucum  thread.  The  pulp  of  the  fruit 
furnishes  an  oil.  In  Guiana  it  is  called  the  Aoura  palm. 

51.  ATT  ALE  A  COHUNE. — This  palm  furnishes  Cahoun  nuts,  from  which  is  extracted 

cohune  oil,  used  as  a  burning  oil,  for  which  purpose  it  is  superior  to  cocoanut 
oil.  Piassaba  fiber  is  furnished  by  this  and  A.funifera,  the  seeds  of  which 
are  known  as  Coquilla  nuts ;  these  nuts  are  3  or  4  inches  long,  oval,  of  a  rich 
brown  color,  and  very  hard  ;  they  are  much  used  by  turners  for  making  the 
handles  of  doors,  umbrellas,  etc.  The  fiber  derived  from  the  decaying  of  the 
cellular  matter  at  the  base  of  the  leaf -stalks  is  much  used  in  Brazil  for  making 
ropes.  It  is  largely  used  in  England  and  other  places  for  making  coarse  brooms, 
chiefly  used  in  cleaning  streets. 

52.  AVERRHOA  BILIMBI.— This  is  called  the  blimbing,  and  is  cultivated  to  some 

extent  in  the  East  Indies.  The  fruit  is  oblong,  obtuse-angled,  somewhat  re- 
sembling a  short,  thick  cucumber,  with  a  thin,  smooth,  green  rind,  filled  with 
a  pleasant,  acid  juice. 

53.  AVERRHOA  CARAMBOLA.— The  caramba  of  Ceylon  and  Bengal.     The  fruit  of  this 

tree  is  about  the  size  of  a  large  orange,  and,  when  ripe,  is  of  a  rich  yellow 
color,  with  a  very  decided  and  agreeable  fragrance.  The  pulp  contains  a  large 
portion  of  acid,  and  is  generally  used  as  a  pickle  or  preserve.  In  Java  it  is 
used  both  in  the  ripe  and  unripe  state  in  pies ;  a  sirup  is  also  made  of  the 
juice,  and  a  conserve  of  the  flowers.  These  preparations  are  highly  v.tlued  as 
remedies  in  fevers  and  bilious  disorders. 

54.  BACTRIS  MAJOR.— The  Marajah  palm,  of  Brazil,  which  grows  upon  the  banks  of 

the  Amazon  River.  It  has  a  succulent,  rather  acid  fruit,  from  which  a  vinous 
beverage  is  prepared.  B.  minor  has  a  stem  about  14  feet  high  and  about  an 
inch  in  diameter.  These  stems  are  used  for  walking  canes,  and  are  sometimes 
called  Tobago  canes. 

55.  BALSAMOCARPON  BREVIFOLIUM.— This  shrub  is  the  algarrobo  of  the  Chilians. 

It  belongs  to  the  pea  family.  Its  pods  are  short  and  thick,  and  when  unripe 
contain  about  80  per  cent  of  tannic  acid;  the  ripe  pods  become  transformed 
into  a  cracked  resinous  substance,  when  their  tanning  value  is  much  impaired: 
this  resinous  matter  is  astringent,  and  is  used  for  dyeing  black  and  for  mak- 
ing ink. 

5G.  BALSAMODENDRON  MYRRHA. — A  native  of  Arabia  Felix,  producing  a  gum  resin, 
sometimes  called  Opobalsamum,  which  was  considered  by  the  ancients  as  a 
panacea  for  almost  all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to.  B.  Mukul  yields  a  resin 
of  this  name,  and  is  considered  identical  with  the  Bdellium  of  Dioscorides  and 
of  the  Scriptures.  The  resin  has  cordial  and  stimulating  properties,  and  is 
burnt  as  an  incense.  In  ancient  times  it  was  used  as  an  embalming  in«re- 
dient. 

57.  BAMBUSA  ARUNDINACEA.— The  bamboo  cane,  a  gigantic  grass,  cultivated  in  rnanv 
tropical  and  semitropical  countries.  The  Chinese  use  it  in  one  way  or  other 
for  nearly  everything  they  require.  Almost  every  article  of  furniture  in  their 
houses,  including  mats,  screens,  chairs,  tables,  bedsteads,  and  bedding,  is  made 
made  of  bamboo.  The  masts,  sails,  and  rigging  of  their  ships  consist  chiefly 
Of  bamboo.  A  fiber  has  been  obtained  from  the  stem  suitable  for  mixing 


9 

\\ith  wool,  cotton,  and  silk;  it  is  said  to  be  very  soft  and  to  take  dyes  easily. 
They  have  treatises  and  volumes  on  its  culture,  showing  the  best  soil  and  the 
-<>ns  for  planting  and  transplanting  this  useful  production. 

58.  BAUHINIA  VAHLII. — The  Maloo-climber  of  India,  where  the  gigantic  shrubby 

steins  often  attain  a  height  of  300  feet,  running  over  the  tops  of  the  tallest 
trees,  and  twisting  so  tightly  around  their  stems  as  to  kill  them.  The  exceed- 
ingly tough  fibrous  bark  of  this  plant  is  used  in  India  for  making  ropes  and 
in  the  construction  of  suspension  bridges.  The  seeds  form  an  article  of  food; 
they  are  eaten  raw,  and  resemble  cashew  nuts  in  flavor. 

59.  BEAUCARNEA  RECURVIFOLIA. — This  Mexican  plant  is  remarkable  for  the  large 

bulbiform  swelling  at  the  base  of  the  stem.  It  is  a  plant  of  much  elegance 
and  beauty,  resembling  a  drooping  fountain. 

60.  BERGERA  KONIGI. — The  curry-leaf  tree  of  India.     The  fragrant,  aromatic  leaves 

are  used  to  flavor  curries.  The  leaves,  root,  and  bark  are  used  medicinally. 
The  wood  is  hard  and  durable,  and  from  the  seeds  a  clear,  transparent  oil, 
called  Simbolee  oil,  is  extracted. 

61.  BERRY  A  AMMONILLA. — This  furnishes  the  Trincomalee  wood  of  the  Philippine 

Islands  and  Ceylon,  and  is  largely  used  for  making  oil  casks  and  for  building 
boats,  for  which  it  is  well  adapted,  being  light  and  strong. 

62.  BERTHOLLETIA  EXCELSA. — This  furnishes  the  well  known  Brazil  nuts,  or  cream 

nuts  of  commerce.  The  tree  is  a  native  of  South  America  and  attains  a 
height  of  100  to  150  feet.  The  fruit  is  nearly  round  and  contains  from  eight- 
een to  twenty-four  seeds,  which  are  so  beautifully  packed  in  the  shell  that 
when  once  removed  it  is  found  impossible  to  replace  them.  A  bland  oil  is 
pressed  from  the  seeds,  which  is  used  by  artists,  and  at  Para  the  fibrous  bark 
of  the  tree  is  used  for  calking  ships,  as  a  substitute  for  oakum. 

63.  BIGNOXIA  ECHINATA. — A  native  of  Mexico,  where  it  is  sometimes  called  Mari- 

posa  butterfly.  The  branches  are  said  to  be  used  in  the  adulteration  of  sarsa- 
parilla.  B.  cliica,  a  native  of  Venezuela,  furnishes  a  red  pigment,  obtained 
by  macerating  the  leaves  in  water,  which  is  used  by  the  natives  for  painting 
their  bodies.  The  long  flexible  stems  of  B.  kerere  furnish  the  natives  of  French 
Guiana  with  a  substitute  for  ropes.  B.  alliacea  is  termed  the  Garlic  shrub, 
because  of  the  powerful  odor  of  garlic  emitted  from  its  leaves  and  branches 
when  bruised.  These  plants  all  have  showy  flowers,  and  the  genus  is  repre- 
sented with  us  by  such  beautiful  flowers  as  are  produced  by  B.  radicans  and 
B.  capreolata. 

64.  BIX  A  ORELLANA. — Arnotta  plant.     This  plant  is  a  native  of  South  America,  but 

has  been  introduced  and  cultivated  both  in  the  West  and  East  Indies.  It 
bears  bunches  of  pink-colored  flowers,  which  are  followed  by  oblong  bristled 
pods.  The  seeds  are  thinly  coated  with  red,  waxy  pulp,  which  is  separated 
by  stirring  them  in  water  until  it  is  detached,  when  it  is  strained  off  and  evapo- 
rated to  the  consistence  of  putty,  when  it  is  made  up  into  rolls ;  in  this  con- 
dition it  is  known  as  flag  or  roll  arnotta,  but  when  thoroughly  dried  it  is 
made  into  cakes  and  sold  as  cake  arnotta.  It  is  much  used  by  the  South 
American  Caribs  and  other  tribes  of  Indians  for  painting  their  bodies,  paint 
being  almost  their  only  article  of  clothing.  As  a  commercial  article  it  is 
mainly  used  as  a  coloring  for  cheese,  butter,  and  inferior  chocolates,  to  all  of 
which  it  gives  the  required  tinge  without  imparting  any  unpleasant  flavor 
or  unwholesome  quality.  It  is  also  used  in  imparting  rich  orange  and  gold- 
colored  tints  to  various  kinds  of  varnishes. 

65.  BLIGHIA  SAPIDA.— The  akee  fruit  of  Guinea.    The  fruit  is  about  3  inches  long 

by  2  inches  wide;  the  seeds  are  surrounded  by  a  spongy  substance,  which  is 
eaten.  It  has  a  subacid,  agreeable  taste.  A  small  quantity  of  semisolid 
fatty  oil  is  obtained  from  the  seeds  by  pressure. 

66.  BCEHMERIA  NIVEA.— A  plant  of  the  nettle  family,  which  yields  the  fiber  known 

as  Chinese  grass.  The  beautiful  fabric  called  grasscloth,  which  rivals  the  best 
French  cambric  in  softness  and  fineness  of  texture,  is  manufactured  from 
the  fiber  of  this  plant.  The  fiber  is  also  variously  known  in  commerce  as 
rheea,  ramie,  and  in  China  as  Tchow-ma.  It  is  a  plant  of  the  easiest  cul- 
ture, and  has  been  introduced  into  the  Southern  States,  where  it  grows 
freely.  When  once  machinery  is  perfected  so  as  to  enable  its  being  cheaply 
prepared  for  the  manufacturer,  a  great  demand  will  arise  for  this  fiber. 

67.  BOLDOA  FRAORANS.— A  Chilian  plant  which  yields  small  edible  fruits;  these,  as 

well  as  all  parts  of  the  plant,  are  very  aromatic.  The  bark  is  used  for  tan- 
ning, andj  the  wcod  is  highly  esteemed  for  making  charcoal.  An  alkaloid 


10 

called  boldinc-,  extracted  from  the  plant,  has  reputed  medicinal  value,  and  a 
drug  called  Boldu  is  similarly  produced. 

68.  BORASSUS  FLABELLIFORMIS.— The  Palmyra  palm.     The  parts  of  this  tree  are 

applied  to  such  a  multitude  of  purposes  that  a  poem  in  the  Tamil  language, 
although  enumerating  eight  hundred  uses,  does  not  exhaust  the  catalogue. 
In  old  trees  the  wood  becomes  hard  and  is  very  durable.  The  leaves  are 
from  8  to  10  feet  long,  and  are  used  for  thatching  houses,  making  various 
mattings,  bags,  etc.  They  also  supply  the  Hindoo  with  paper,  upon  which 
he  writes  with  a  stylus.  A  most  important  product  called  toddy  or  palm 
wine  is  obtained  from  the  flower  spikes,  which  yield  a  great  quantity  of 
juice  for  four  or  five  months.  Palm-toddy  is  intoxicating,  and  when  dis- 
tilled yields  strong  arrack.  Very  good  vinegar  is  also  obtained  from  it,  and 
large  quantities  of  jaggery  or  palm  sugar  are  manufactured  from  the  toddy. 
The  fruits  are  large  and  have  a  thick  coating  of  fibrous  pulp,  which  is  cooked 
and  eaten  or  made  into  jelly.  The  young  palm  plants  are  cultivated  for  the 
market,  as  cabbages  are  with  us,  and  eaten,  either  when  fresh  or  after  being 
dried  in  the  sun. 

69.  BOSWELLIA  THURIFERA. — This  Coromandel  tree  furnishes  the  resin  known  as 

olibanum,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  frankincense  of  the  ancients. 
It  is  sometimes  used  in  medicine  as  an  astringent  and  stimulant,  and  is  em- 
ployed, because  of  its  grateful  perfume,  as  an  incense  in  churches. 

70.  BROMELIA  KARATAS. — The  Corawa  fiber,  or  silk-grass  of  Guiana,  is  obtained 

from  this  plant,  which  is  very  strong,  and  much  used  for  bowstrings,  fishing 
lines,  nets,  and  ropes. 

71.  BROMELIA  PINGUIN. — This  is  very  common  as  a  hedge  or  fence  plant  in  the 

West  Indies.  The  leaves,  when  beaten  with  a  blunt  mallet  and  macerated  in 
water,  produce  fibers  from  which  beautiful  fabrics  are  manufactured.  The 
fruit  yields  a  cooling  juice  much  used  in  fevers. 

72.  BROSIUM  ALICASTRUM.— The   bread-nut  tree  of  Jamaica.    The  nuts  or  seeds 

produced  by  this  tree  are  said  to  form  an  agreeable  and  nutritious  article  of 
food.  When  cooked  they  taste  like  hazelnuts.  The  young  branches  and 
shoots  are  greedily  eaten  'by  horses  and  cattle,  and  the  wood  resembles  ma- 
hogany, and  is  used  for  making  furniture. 

73.  BROSIMUM  GALACTODENDRON — The  cow  tree  of  South  America,  which  yields  a 

milk  of  as  good  quality  as  that  from  the  cow.  It  forms  large  forests  on  the 
mountains  near  the  town  of  Cariaco  and  elsewhere  along  the  seacoast  of 
Venezuela,  reaching  to  a  considerable  height.  In  South  America  the  cow 
tree  is  called  Palo  de  Vaca,  or  Arbol  de  Leche.  Its  milk,  which  is  obtained  by 
making  incisions  in  the  trunk,  so  closely  resembles  the  milk  of  the  cow,  both 
in  appearance  and  quality,  that  it  is  commonly  used  as  an  article  of  food  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  places  where  the  tree  is  abundant.  Unlike  many  other 
vegetable  milks,  it  is  perfectly  wholesome,  and  very  nourishing,  possessing  an 
agreeable  taste,  and  a  pleasant  balsamic  odor,  its  only  unpleasant  quality  be- 
ing a  slight  amount  of  stickiness.  The  chemical  analysis  of  this  milk  has 
shown  it  to  possess  a  composition  closely  resembling  some  animal  substances; 
and,  like  animal  milk,  it  quickly  forms  a  cheesy  scum,  and  after  a  few  days' 
exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  turns  sour  and  putrifies.  It  contains  upwards 
of  30  per  cent  of  a  resinous  substance  called  galactine. 

74.  BRYA  EBENUS.  —  Jamaica  or  West  India  ebony  tree.     This  is  not  the  plant  that 

yields  the  true  ebony-wood  of  commerce.  Jamica  ebony  is  of  a  greenish- 
brown  color,  very  hard,  and  so  heavy  that  it  sinks  in  water.  It  takes  a  good 
polish,  and  is  used  by  turners  for  the  manufacture  of  numerous  kinds  of 
small  wares. 

75.  BYRSONIMA  SPICATA. — A  Brazilian  plant,  furnishing  an  astringent  bark  used 

for  tanning,  and  also  containing  a  red  coloring  matter  employed  in  dyeing. 
The  berries  are  used  in  medicine,  and  a  decoction  of  the  roots  is  used  for 
ulcers. 

76.  CJESALPJNIA  BONDUC. — A  tropical  plant,  bearing  the  seeds  known  as  nicker  nuts, 

or  bonduc  nuts.  These  are  often  strung  together  for  necklaces.  The  kernels 
have  a  very  bitter  taste,  and  the  oil  obtained  from  them  is  used  medicinally. 

77.  CJESALPINA  PULCHERRIMA.— This  beautiful  flowering  leguminous  plant  is  a  na- 

tive of  the  East  Indies,  but  is  cultivated  in  all  the  tropics.  In  Jamaica  it  is 
called  the  "  Barbados  flower."  The  wood  is  sought  after  for  charcoal,  and  a 
decoction  of  the  leaves  and  flowers  is  used  in  fevers. 


11 

78.  C/TSALPINTA  SAPPAN.— Tho  brown ish-rod  wood  of  this  Indian  tree  furnishes  the 

Sappan  wood  of  commerce,  from  which  dyers  obtain  a  red  color,  principally 
used  for  dyeing  cotton  goods.  Its  root  also  affords  an  orange-yellow  dye. 

79.  CALAMUS  ROTANG. — This  is  one  of  the  palms  that  furnish  the  canos  or  rattans 

used  for  chair  bottoms,  sides  of  pony-carriages,  and  similar  purposes.  It  is  a 
climbing  palm  and  grows  to  an  immense  length;  specimens  300  feet  long  have 
been  exhibited,  climbing  over  and  amongst  the  branches  of  trees,  supporting 
themselves  by  means  of  the  hooked  spines  attached  to  the  leaf  stalks.  C.  ru- 
dentum  and  C.  viminalis  furnish  flexible  canes.  In  their  native  countries 
they  are  used  for  a  variety  of  manufacturing  purposes,  also  for  ropes  and 
cables  used  by  junks  and  other  coasting  vessels.  In  the  Himalayas  they  are 
used  in  the  formation  of  suspension  bridges  across  rivers  and  deep  ravines.  C. 
scipionum  furnishes  the  well-known  Malacca  canes  used  for  walking  sticks. 
They  are  naturally  of  a  rich  brown  color.  The  clouded  and  mottled  appear- 
ance which  some  of  these  present  is  said  to  be  imparted  to  them  by  smoking 
and  steaming. 

80.  CALLJSTEMON  SALIGNUM. — A  medium-sized  tree  from  Australia;  one  of  the  many 

so-called  tea  trees  of  that  country.  The  wood,  which  is  very  hard,  is  known 
as  stone  wood  and  has  been  used  for  wood  engraving.  Layers  of  the  bark 
readily  peel  off;  hence  it  also  receives  the  name  of  paper-bark  plant. 

81.  CALLITRIS  QUADRIVALVIS. — This  coniferous  plant  is  a  native  of  Barbary.    It 

yields  a  hard,  durable,  and  fragrant  timber,  and  is  much  employed  in  the 
erection  of  mosques,  etc.,  by  the  Africans  of  the  North.  The  resin  that  ex- 
udes from  the  tree  is  used  in  varnish  under  the  name  of  gum-sandarach.  In 
powder  it  forms  a  principal  ingredient  of  the  article  known  as  pounce. 

82.  CALOPHYLLUM  CALABA. — This  is  called  calaba  tree  in  the  West  Indies,  and  an 

oil,  fit  for  burning,  is  expressed  from  the  seeds.  In  the  West  Indies  these 
seeds  are  called  Santa  Maria  nuts. 

83.  CALOTROPIS  GIGANTEA. — The  inner  bark  of  this  plant  yields  a  valuable  fiber, 

capable  of  bearing  a  greater  strain  than  hemp.  All  parts  of  it  abound  in  a 
very  acrid  milky  juice,  which  hardens  into  a  substance  resembling  gutta- 
percha;  but  in  its  fresh  state  it  is  a  valuable  remedy  in  cutaneous  diseases. 
The  bark  of  the  root  also  possesses  similar  medical  qualities;  and  its  tincture 
yields  mudarine,  a  substance  that  has  the  property  of  gelatinizing  when 
heated,  and  returning  to  the  fluid  state  when  cool.  Paper  has  been  made 
from  the  silky  down  of  the  seeds. 

84.  CAMELLIA  JAPONICA. — A  well-known  green-house  plant,  cultivated  for  its  large 

double  flowers.  The  seeds  furnish  an  oil  of  an  agreeable  odor,  which  is  used 
for  many  domestic  purposes. 

85.  CAMPHORA  OFFICINARUM.— This  tree  belongs  to  the  Lauracae.     Camphor  is 

prepared  from  the  wood  by  boiling  chopped  branches  in  water,  when,  after 
some  time,  the  camphor  becomes  deposited  and  is  purified  by  sublimation. 
It  is  mainly  produced  in  the  island  of  Formosa.  The  wood  of  the  tree  is 
highly  prized  for  manufacturing  entomological  cabinets.  As  the  plant  grows 
well  over  a  large  area  in  the  more  Southern  States,  it  is  expected  that  the 
preparation  of  its  products  will  become  a  profitable  industry. 

86.  CANELLA  ALBA. — This  is  a  native  of  the  West  Indies,  and  furnishes  a  pale 

olive-colored  bark  with  an  aromatic  odor,  and  is  u^ed  as  a  tonic.  It  is  used 
by  the  natives  as  a  spice.  It  furnishes  the  true  canella  bark  of  couimerce, 
also  known  as  white-wood  bark. 

87.  CAPPARIS  SPINOSA. — The  caper  plant,  a  native  of  the  South  of  Europe  and  of 

the  Mediterranean  regions.  The  commercial  product  consists  of  the  flower- 
buds,  and  sometimes  the  unripe  fruits,  pickled  in  vinegar.  The  wood  and 
bark  possess  acrid  qualities  which  will  act  as  a  blister  when  applied  to  the 
skin. 

88.  CARAPA  GUIANENSIS. — A  meliaceous  plant,  native  of  tropical  America,  where  it 

grows  to  a  height  of  60  to  80  feet.  The  bark  of  this  tree  possesses  febrifugal 
properties  and  is  also  used  for  tanning.  By  pressure,  the  seeds  yield  a  liquid 
oil  called  carap-oii  or  crab-oil,  suitable  for  burning  in  lamps. 

89.  CARICA  PAPAYA. — This  is  the  South  American  papaw  tree,  but  is  cultivated  in 

most  tropical  countries.  It  is  also  known  as  the  melon-apple.  The  fruit  is 
of  a  dingy  orange-color,  of  an  oblong  form,  about  8  to  10  inches  long,  by  3  or 
4  inches  broad.  It  is  said  that  the  juice  of  the  tree,  or  an  infusion  of  the 
leaves  and  fruit,  has  the  property  of  rendering  tough  fiber  quite  tender. 
Animals  fed  upon  the  fruit  and  leaves  will  have  very  tender  and  juicy  flesh. 


12 

90.  CARLTJDOVICA  PALHATA. — A  pandanaceous  plant  from  Panama  and  southward. 

Panama  hats  are  made  from  the  leaves  of  this  plant.  The  leaves  are  cut  when 
young,  and  the  stiff  parallel  veins  removed,  after  which  they  are  slit  into 
shreds,  but  not  separated  at  the  stalk  end,  and  immersed  in  boiling  water  for 
a  short  time,  then  bleached  in  the  sun. 

91.  CAR  YOG  AR  NUCIFERUM. — On  the  river  banks  of  Guiana  this  grows  to  a  large-sized 

tree.  It  yields  the  butter-nuts,  or  souari-nuts  of  commerce.  These  are  of  a 
flattened  kidney  shape,  with  a  hard  woody  shell  of  a  reddish -brown  color,  and 
covered  with  wart-like  protuberances.  The  nuts  are  pleasant  to  eat,  and  yield, 
by  expression,  an  oil  called  Piquia  oil,  which  possesses  the  flavor  of  the  fruit. 

92.  CARYOPHYLLUS  AROMATICUS. — This  myrtaceous  plant  produces  the  well-known 

spice  called  cloves.  It  forms  a  beautiful  evergreen,  rising  from  20  to  30  feet 
in  height.  The  cloves  of  commerce  are  the  unexpanded  flower-buds;  they 
are  collected  by  beating  the  tree  with  rods,  when  the  buds,  from  the  jointed 
character  of  their  stalks,  readily  fall,  and  are  received  on  sheets  spread  on 
purpose;  they  are  then  dried  in  the  sun.  All  parts  of  the  plant  are  aromatic, 
•from  the  presence  of  a  volatile  oil.  The  oil  is  sometimes  used  in  toothache 
and  as  a  carminative  in  medicine. 

93.  CARYOTA  URENS. — This  fine  palm  is  a  native  of  Ceylon,  and  is  also  found  in  other 

parts  of  India,  where  it  supplies  the  native  population  with  various  impor- 
tant articles.  Large  quantities  of  toddy,  or  palm-wine,  are  prepared  from 
the  juice,  which,  when  boiled,  yields  very  good  palm  sugar  or  jaggery,  and 
also  excellent  sugar  candy.  Sago  is  also  prepared  from  the  central  or  pithy 
-  part  of  the  trunk,  and  forms  a  large  portion  of  the  food  of  the  natives.  The 
fiber  from  the  leaf  stalk  is  of  great  strength;  it  is  known  as  Kittool  fiber, 
and  is  used  for  making  ropes,  brushes,  brooms,  etc.  A  woolly  kind  of  scruf , 
scraped  off  the  leaf  stalks,  is  used  for  calking  boats,  and  the  stem  furnishes 
a  small  quantity  of  wood. 

94.  CASIMIROA  EDULIS. — A  Mexican  plant,  belonging  to  the  orange  family,  with  a 

fruit  about  the  size  of  an  ordinary  orange,  which  has  an  agreeable  taste,  but 
is  not  considered  to  be  wholesome.  The  seeds  are  poisonous;  the  bark  is  bit- 
ter, and  is  sometimes  used  medicinally. 

95.  CASSIA  ACUTIFOLIA. — The  cassias  belong  to  the  leguminous  family.    The  leaf- 

lets of  this  and  some  other  species  produce  the  well-known  drug  called  senna, 
That  known  as  Alexandria  senna  is  produced  by  the  above.  East  Indian 
senna  is  produced  by  C.  elongata.  Aleppo  senna  is  obtained  from.  C.  obovata. 
The  native  species,  C.  marylandica,  possesses  similar  properties.  The  seeds 
of  C.  absus,  a  native  of  Egypt,  are  bitter,  aromatic,  and  mucilaginous,  and 
are  used  as  a  remedy  for  ophthalmia.  C.  fistula  is  called  the  Pudding-Pipe 
tree,  and  furnishes  the  cassia  pods  of  commerce.  The  seeds  of  C.  occidentalis, 
when  roasted,  are  used  as  a  substitute  for  coffee  in  the  Mauritius  and  in  the 
interior  of  Africa. 

9C.  CASTILLOA  ELASTICA. — This  is  a  Mexican  tree,  which  yields  a  milky  juice,  form- 
ing caoutchouc,  but  is  not  collected  for  commerce  except  in  a  limited  way. 

97.  CASUARINA  QUADRIVALVIS. — This  Tasmanian  tree  produces  a  very  hard  wood  of 

a  reddish  color,  often  called  Beef  wood.  It  is  marked  with  dark  stripes,  and 
is  much  used  in  some  places  for  picture  frames  and  cabinetwork.  This  be- 
longs to  a  curious  family  of  trees  having  no  leaves,  but  looking  like  a  gigantic 
specimen  of  Horse'-tail  grass,  a  weed  to  be  seen  in  wet  places. 

98.  CATHA  EDULIS. — This  plant  is  a  native  of  Arabia,  where  it  attains  the  height  of 

7  to  10  feet.  Its  leaves  are  used  by  the  Arabs  in  preparing  a  beverage  like  tea 
or  coffee.  The  twigs,  with  leaves  attached,  in  bundles  of  fifty,  and  in  pieces 
from  12  to  15  inches  in  length,  form  a  very  considerable  article  of  commerce, 
its  use  in  Arabia  corresponding  to  that  of  the  Paraguay  tea  in  South  America 
and  the  Chinese  tea  in  Europe.  The  effects  produced  by  a  decoction  of  the 
leaves  of  Cafta,  as  they  are  termed,  are  described  as  similar  to  those  produced 
by  strong  green  tea,  only  more  pleasing  and  agreeable.  The  Arab  soldiers  chew 
the  leaves  when  on  sentry  duty  to  keep  them  from  feeling  drowsy.  Its  use  is  of 
great  antiquity,  preceding  that  of  coffee.  Its  stimulating  effects  induced  some 
Arabs  to  class  it  with  intoxicating  substances,  the  use  of  which  is  forbidden 
by  the  Koran,  but  a  synod  of  learned  Mussulmans  decreed  that,  as  it  did  not 
impair  the  health  or  impede  the  observance  of  religious  duties,  but  only  in- 
creased hilarity  and  good  humor,  it  was  lawful  to  use  it. 

99.  CECROPIA  PELT  ATA. —The  South  American  trumpet  tree,  so  called  because  its 

hollow  branches  are  used  for  musical  instruments.     The  Waupe  Indians  form 


13 

a  kind  of  drum  by  removing  the  pith  or  center  of  the  branches.  The  inner 
l»ark  of  the  young  branches  yields  a  very  tough  fiber,  which  is  made  into 
ropes.  The  milky  juice  of  the  stem  hardens  into  caoutchouc. 

100.  CEDRELA  ODORATA. — This  forms  a  large  tree  in  the  West  India  Islands,  and  is 

hollowed  out  for  canoes;  the  wood  is  of  a  brown  color  and  has  a  fragrant 
odor,  and  is  sometimes  imported  under  the  name  of  Jamaica  cedar. 

101.  CEPHJELIS  IPECACUANHA. — This  Brazilian  plant  produces  the  true  ipecacuanha, 

and  belongs  to  the  Cinchonacce.  The  root  is  the  part  used  in  medicine,  it 
is  knotty,  contorted,  and  annulated,  and  of  a  grayish-brown  color,  and  its 
emetic  properties  are  due  to  a  chemical  principle  called  emetin. 

102.  CERATONIA  SILIQUA. — The  carob  bean.    This  leguminous  plant  is  a  native  of 

the  countries  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean.  The  seed  pods  contain  a 
quantity  of  mucilaginous  and  saccharine  matter,  and  are  used  as  food  for 
cattle.  Besides  the  name  of  carob  beans,  these  pods  are  known  as  locust 
pods,  or  St.  John's  bread,  from  a  supposition  that  they  formed  the  food  of 
St.  John  in  the  wilderness.  It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  the  locusts 
of  St.  John  were  the  insects  so  called,  and  which  are  still  used  as  an  article 
of  food  in  some  of  the  Eastern  countries.  There  is  more  reason  for  the 
belief  that  the  husks  mentioned  in  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son  were 
these  pods.  The  seeds  were  at  one  time  used  by  singers,  who  imagined 
that  they  softened  and  cleared  the  voice. 

103.  CEIIBERA  THEVETIA. — The  name  is  intended  to  imply  that  the  plant  is  as  dan- 

gerous as  Cerberus.  The  plant  has  a  milky,  poisonous  juice.  The  bark  is 
purgative;  the  unripe  fruit  is  used  by  the  natives  of  Travancore  to  destroy 
dogs,  as  its  action  causes  their  teeth  to  loosen  and  fall  out. 

104.  CEREUS  GIQANTEA. — The  suwarrow  of  the  Mexicans,  a  native  of   the  hot, 

arid,  and  almost  desert  regions  of  New  Mexico,  found  growing  in  rocky 
places,  in  valleys,  and  on  mountain  sides,  often  springing  out  of  mere 
crevices  in  hard  rocks,  and  imparting  a  singular  aspect  to  the  scenery  of 
the  country,  its  tall  stems  often  reaching  40  feet  in  height,  with  upright 
branches  looking  like  telegraph  posts  for  signaling  from  point  to  point  of 
the  rocky  mountains.  The  fruits  are  about  2  or  3  inches  long,  of  a 
green  color  and  oval  form;  when  ripe  they  burst  into  three  or  four  pieces, 
which  curve  back  so  as  to  resemble  a  flower.  Inside  they  contain  numer- 
ous little  black  seeds,  imbedded  in  a  crimson-colored  pulp,  which  the 
Indians  make  into  a  preserve.  They  also  eat  the  ripe  fruit  as  an  article  of 
food. 

105.  CEREUS  MACDONALDLE. — A  night-blooming  cereus,  and  one  of  the  most  beau- 

tiful. The  flowers  when  fully  expanded  are  over  a  foot  in  diameter,  having 
numerous  radiating  red  and  bright  orange  sepals  and  delicately  white 
petals.  It  is  a  native  of  the  Honduras. 

106.  CEROXYLON  ANDICOLA. — The  wax  palm  of  New  Grenada,  first  described  by 

Humboldt  and  Bonpland,  who  found  it  on  elevated  mountains,  extend- 
ing as  high  as  the  lower  limit  of  perpetual  snow.  Its  tall  trunk  is  covered 
with  a  thin  coating  of  a  whitish  waxy  substance,  giving  it  a  marbled 
appearance.  The  waxy  substance  forms  an  article  of  commerce,  and  is 
obtained  by  scraping  the  trunk.  It  consists  of  two  parts  of  resin  and  one 
wax,  and,  when  mixed  with  one  third  of  tallow,  it  makes  very  good 
candles.  The  stem  is  used  for  building  purposes,  and  the  leaves  for  thatch- 
ing roofs. 

107.  CHAMJEDOREA  ELEGANS. — This  belongs  to  a  genus  of  palms  native  of  South 

America.  The  plant  is  of  tall,  slender  growth;  the  stems  are  used  for 
walking  canes,  and  the  young,  unexpanded  flower  spikes  are  used  as  a 
vegetable. 

108.  CHAM^EROPS  FORTUNE. — This  palm  is  a  native  of  the  north  of  China,  and  is 

nearly  hardy  here.  In  China,  the  coarse  brown  fibers  obtained  from  the 
leaves  are  used  for  making  hats  and  also  garments  called  So-e,  worn  in  wet 
weather. 

109.  CHAM^ROPS  HUMILIS. — This  is  the  only  European  species  of  palm,  and  does 

not  extend  farther  north  than  Nice.  The  leaves  are  commonly  used  in  the 
south  of  Europe  for  making  hats,  brooms,  baskets,  etc.  From  the  leaf  fiber 
a  material  resembling  horse  hair  is  prepared,  and  the  Arabs  mix  it  with 
camel's  hair  for  their  tent  covers. 

110.  CHAVICA  BETEL. — This  plant  is  found  all  over  the  East  Indies,  where  its  leaf  is 

largely  used  by  Indian  natives  as  a  masticatory.    Its  consumption  is  im- 


14 

mense,  and  has  been  said  to  equal  that  of  tobacco  by  Western  peoples. 
It  is  prepared  for  chewing  by  inclosing  in  the  leaves  a  slice  of  the  areca 
nut,  and  a  small  portion  of  lime.  It  is  thought  to  act  as  a  stimulant  to  the 
digestive  organs,  but  causes  giddiness  and  other  unpleasant  symptoms  to 
those  not  accustomed  to  its  use. 

111.  CHIOCOCCA  RACEMOSA. — This  plant  is  found  in  many  warm  countries,  such  as 

in  southern  Florida.  It  is  called  cahinca  in  Brazil,  where  a  preparation 
of  the  bark  of  the  root  is  employed  as  a  remedy  for  snake  bites.  Almost 
every  locality  where  snakes  exist  has  its  local  remedies  for  poisonous  bites, 
but  they  rarely  prove  to  be  efficient  when  truthfully  and  fairly  tested. 

112.  CHLORANTHUS  OFFICINALIS. — The  roots  of  this  plant  are  an  aromatic  stimu- 

lant, much  used  as  medicine  in  the  Island  of  Java;  also,  when  mixed  with 
anise,  it  has  proved  valuable  hi  malignant  smallpox. 

113.  CHLOROXYLON  SWIETENIA. — The  satinwood  tree  of  tropical  countries.    It  is 

principally  used  for  making  the  backs  of  clothes  and  hair  brushes,  and  for 
articles  of  turnery- ware;  the  finest  mottled  pieces  are  cut  into  veneers  and 
used  for  cabinet-making. 

114.  CHRYSOBALANUS  ICACO. — The  cocoa  plum  of  the  West  Indies.     The   fruits 

are  about  the  size  of  a  plum,  and  are  of  various  colors,  white,  yellow,  red, 
or  purple.  The  pulp  is  sweet,  a  little  austere,  but  not  disagreeable.  The 
fruits  are  preserved  and  exported  from  Cuba  and  other  West  India  Islands. 
The  kernels  yield  a  fixed  oil,  and  an  emulsion  made  with  them  is  used 
medicinally. 

115.  CHRYSOPHYLLUM   CAINITO. — The  fruit  of  this  plant  is  known   in  the  West 

Indies  as  the  star  apple,  the  interior  of  which,  when  cut  across,  shows  ten 
cells,  and  as  many  seeds  disposed  regularly  round  the  center,  giving  a  star- 
like  appearance,  as  stars  are  generally  represented  in  the  most  reliable 
almanacs.  It  receives  its  botanic  name  from  the  golden  silky  color  on  the 
under  side  of  the  leaves. 

116.  CICCA  DISTICHA. — This  Indian  plant  is  cultivated  in  many  parts  under  the 

name  of  Otaheite  gooseberry.  The  fruits  resemble  those  of  a  green  goose- 
berry. They  have  an  acid  flavor;  are  used  for  preserving  or  pickling,  and 
eaten  either  in  a  raw  state  or  cooked  in  various  ways. 

117.  CINCHONA  CALISAYA. — The  yellow  bark  of  Bolivia.     This  is  one  of  the  so-called 

Peruvian  Bark  trees.  The  discovery  of  the  medicinal  value  of  this  bark  is  a 
matter  of  fable  and  conjecture.  The  name  cinchona  is  derived  from  that  of 
the  wife  of  a  viceroy  of  Peru,  who  is  said  to  have  taken  the  drug  from  South 
America  to  Europe  in  1639.  Afterwards  the  Jesuits  used  it;  hence  it  is 
sometimes  called  Jesuit's  bark.  It  was  brought  most  particularly  into 
notice  when  Louis  XIV  of  France  purchased  of  Sir  R.  Talbor,  an  English- 
man, his  heretofore  secret  remedy  for  intermittent  fever,  and  made  it  public. 
There  are  various  barks  in  commerce  classified  under  the  head  of  Peru- 
vian barks.  Their  great  value  depends  upon  the  presence  of  certain  alka- 
loid substances  called  quinine,  cinchonine,  and  quinidine,  which  exist  in 
the  bark  in  combination  with  tannic  and  other  acids.  Quinine  is  the 
most  useful  of  these  alkaloids,  and  this  is  found  in  greatest  quantities 
in  Calisaya  bark.  The  gray  bark  of  Huanuco  is  derived  from  Cinchona 
micrantha,  which  is  characterized  by  its  yield  of  cinchonine,  and  the  Loxa 
or  Loja  barks  are  furnished  in  part  by  Cinchona  officinalis,  and  are  espe- 
cially rich  in  quinidine.  There  is  some  uncertainty  about  the  trees  that 
produce  the  various  kinds  of  bark.  These  trees  grow  in  the  forests  of 
Bolivia  and  Peru,  at  various  elevations  on  the  mountains,  but  chiefly  in 
sheltered  mountain  valleys,  and  all  of  them  at  a  considerable  distance  below 
the  frost  or  snow  line.  They  are  destroyed  by  the  slightest  frost.  Plants  of 
various  species  have  been  distributed  from  time  to  time,  in  localities  which 
seemed  most  favorable  to  their  growth,  but  all  reports  from  these  distri- 
butions have,  so  far,  been  discouraging. 

1 18.  CINNAMOMUM  CASSIA.— This  f urnishes  cassia  bark,  which  is  much  like  cinna- 

mon, but  thicker,  coarser,  stronger,  less  delicate  in  flavor,  and  cheaper; 
hence  it  is  often  used  to  adulterate  cinnamon.  The  unexpanded  flower 
buds  are  sold  as  cassia  buds,  possessing  properties  similar  to  those  of  the 
bark.  It  is  grown  in  southern  China,  Java,  and  tropical  countries  gen- 
erally. 

119.  CINNAMOMUM  ZEYLANICUM.—  A  tree  belonging  to  Lauracese,  which  furnishes 

the  best  cinnamon.  It  is  prepared  by  stripping  the  bark  from  the  branches, 
when  it  rolls  up  into  quills,  the  smaller  of  which  are  introduced  into  the 


15 

larger,  and  then  dried  in  the  sun.  Cinnamon  is  much  used  as  a  condiment 
for  its  pleasant  flavor,  and  its  astringent  properties  are  of  medicinal  value. 
It  is  cultivated  largely  in  Ceylon.  The  cinnamon  tree  is  too  tender  to  be- 
come of  commercial  importance  in  the  United  States.  Isolated  plants  may 
be  found  in  southern  Florida,  at  least  it  is  so  stated,  but  the  area  suited  to 
its  growth  must  be  very  limited. 

120.  CISSAMI-KI.OS  I'AUKiitA. — The  velvet  plant  of  tropical  countries.     The  root  fur- 

nishes the  Pareira  brava  of  druggists,  which  is  used  in  medicine. 

121.  CITRUS  AURANTIUM. — The  orange,  generally  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  the 

north  of  India.  It  was  introduced  into  Arabia  during  the  ninth  century.  It 
was  unknown  in  Europe  in  the  eleventh  century.  Oranges  were  cultivated 
at  Seville  towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  at  Palermo  in  the 
thirteenth.  In  the  fourteenth  century  they  were  plentiful  in  several  parts 
of  Italy.  There  are  many  varieties  of  the  orange  in  cultivation.  The  blood 
red,  or  Malta,  is  much  esteemed;  the  fruit  is  round,  reddish-yellow  outside 
and  the  pulp  irregularly  mottled  with  crimson.  The  Mandarin  or  Tanger- 
ine orange  has  a  thin  rind  which  separates  easily  from  the  pulp,  and  is  very 
sweet  and  rich.  The  St.  Michael's  orange  is  one  of  the  most  productive  and 
delicious  varieties,  with  a  thin  rind  and  very  sweet  pulp.  The  Seville  or 
bitter  orange  is  used  for  the  manufacture  of  bitter  tincture  and  candied 
orange-peel.  The  Bergamot  orange  has  peculiarly  fragrant  flowers  and 
fruit,  from  each  of  which  an  essence  of  a  delicious  quality  is  extracted. 

122.  CITRUS  DECUMANA. — The  shaddock,  which  has  the  largest  fruit  of  the  family. 

It  is  a  native  of  China  and  Japan,  where  it  is  known  as  sweet  ball.  The 
pulp  is  acid  or  subacid,  and  in  some  varieties  nearly  sweet.  From  the  thick- 
ness of  the  skin  the  fruit  will  keep  a  considerable  time  without  injury. 

123.  CITRUS  JAPONICA. — This  is  the  Kum-quat  of  the  Chinese.     It  forms  a  small 

tree,  or  rather  a  large  bush,  and  bears  fruit  about  the  size  of  a  large  cherry. 
There  are  two  forms,  one  bearing  round  fruits,  the  other  long,  oval  fruits. 
This  fruit  has  a  sweet  rind  and  an  agreeably  acid  pulp,  and  is  usually  eaten 
whole  without  being  peeled.  It  forms  an  excellent  preserve,  with  sugar, 
and  is  largely  used  in  this  form. 

124.  CITRUS  LJMETTA. — The  lime,  which  is  used  for  the  same  purposes  as  the  lemon, 

and  by  some  preferred,  the  juice  being  considered  more  wholesome  and  the 
acid  more  agreeable.  There  are  several  varieties,  some  of  them  being  sweet 
and  quite  insipid. 

125.  CITRUS  LIMONUM. — The  lemon;  this  plant  is  found  growing  naturally  in  that 

part  of  India  which  is  beyond  the  Ganges.  It  was  unknown  to  the  ancient 
Greeks  and  Romans.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  brought  to  Italy  by  the 
Crusaders.  Arabian  writers  of  the  twelfth  century  notice  the  lemon  as 
being  cultivated  in  Egypt  and  other  places.  The  varieties  of  the  lemon  are 
very  numerous  and  valued  for  their  agreeable  acid  juice  and  essential  oil. 
They  keep  for  a  considerable  time,  especially  if  steeped  for  a  short  period 
in  salt  water. 

126.  CITRUS  MEDICA.— The  citron,  found  wild  in  the  forests  of  northern  India.     The 

Jews  cultivated  the  citron  at  the  time  they  were  under  subjection  to  the 
Romans,  and  used  the  fruit  in  the  Feast  of  the  Tabernacles.  There  is  no 
proof  of  their  having  known  the  fruit  in  the  time  of  Moses,  but  it  is  supposed 
that  they  found  it  at  Babylon,  and  brought  it  into  Palestine.  The  citron 
is  cultivated  in  China  and  Cochin-China.  It  is  easily  naturalized  and  the 
seeds  are  rapidly  spread.  In  its  wild  state  it  grows  erect;  the  branches  are 
spiny,  the  flowers  purple  on  the  outside  and  white  on  the  inside.  The  fruit 
f  urmshes  the  essential  oil  of  citron  and  the  essential  oil  of  cedra.  There  are 
several  varieties;  the  fingered  citron  is  a  curious  fruit,  and  the  Madras  cit- 
ron is  very  long  and  narrow;  the  skin  is  covered  with  protuberances. 

127.  CLUSIA  ROSEA. — A  tropical  plant  which  yields  abundantly  of  a  tenacious  resin 

from  its  stem,  which  is  used  for  the  same  purpose  as  pitch.  It  is  first  of  a 
green  color,  but  when  exposed  to  the  air  it  assumes  a  brown  or  reddish  tint. 
The  Caribs  use  it  for  painting  the  bottoms  of  their  boats. 

128.  COCCOLOBA  UVIFERA. — Known  in  tho  West  Indies  as  the  seaside  grape,  fiom 

the  peculiarity  of  the  perianth,  which  becomes  pulpy  and  of  a  violet  color 
and  surrounds  the  ripe  fruit.  The  pulpy  perianth  has  an  agreeable  acid 
flavor.  An  astringent  extract  is  prepared  from  the  plant  which  is  used  in 
medicine. 

129.  Cocos  NUCIFERA.— The  cocoanut  palm.     This  palm  is  cultivated  throughout 

the  tropics  so  extensively  that  its  native  country  is  not  known.    One  reason 


16 

of  its  extensive  dissemination  is  that  it  grows  so  close  to  the  sea  that  the 
ripe  fruits  are  washed  away  by  the  waves  and  afterwards  cast  upon  far- 
distant  shores,  where  they  soon  vegetate.  It  is  in  this  way  that  the  coral 
islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean  have  become  covered  with  these  palms.  Every 
part  of  this  tree  is  put  to  some  useful  purpose.  The  outside  rind  or  husk 
of  the  fruit  yields  the  fiber  from  which  the  well-known  cocoa  matting  is 
manufactured.  Cordage,  clothes,  brushes,  brooms,  and  hats  are  made  from 
this  fiber,  and,  when  curled  and  dyed,  it  is  used  for  stuffing  mattresses  and 
cushions.  An  oil  is  produced  by  pressing  the  white  kernel  of  the  nut  which 
is  used  for  cooking  when  fresh,  and  by  pressure  affords  stearin,  which  is 
made  into  candles,  the  liquid  being  used  for  lamps.  The  kernel  is  of  great 
importance  as  an  article  of  food,  and  the  milk  affords  an  agreeable  beverage. 
While  young  it  yields  a  delicious  substance  resembling  blanc-mange.  The 
leaves  are  used  for  thatching,  for  making  mats,  baskets,  hats,  etc. ;  combs 
are  made  from  the  hard  footstalk;  the  heart  of  the  tree  is  used  as  we  use 
cabbages.  The  brown  fibrous  net  work  from  the  base  of  the  leaves  is  used 
as  sieves,  and  also  made  into  garments.  The  wood  is  used  for  building  and 
for  furniture.  The  flowers  are  used  medicinally  as  an  astringent  and  the 
roots  as  a  febrifuge. 

130.  Cocos  PLUMOSUS. — A  Brazilian  species,  highly  ornamental  in  its  long,  arching 
leaves,  and  producing  quantities  of  orange-colored  nuts,  in  size  about  as  large 
as  a  chestnut,  inclosed  in  an  edible  pulp. 

131  COFFEA  ARABICA. — The  coffee  plant,  which  belongs  to  the  Cinchonacece  and  is  a 
native  of  Abyssinia,  but  is  now  cultivated  in  many  tropical  regions.  It 
can  not  be  successfully  cultivated  in  a  climate  where  the  temperature,  at 
any  season  of  the  year,  falls  below  55  degrees,  although  it  will  exist  where 
the  temperature  all  but  falls  short  of  freezing,  but  a  low  fall  of  temperature 
greatly  retards  the  ripening  of  the  fruit.  Ripe  fruits  are  often  gathered 
from  plants  in  the  extreme  south  of  Florida.  The  beans  or  seeds  are 
roasted  before  use,  and  by  this  process  they  gain  nearly  one  half  in  bulk 
and  lose  about  a  fifth  in  weight.  Heat  also  changes  their  essential  quali- 
ties, causing  the  development  of  the  volatile  oil  and  peculiar  acid  to  which 
the  aroma  and  flavor  are  due.  The  berries  contain  theine;  so  also  do  the 
leaves,  and  hi  some  countries  the  latter  are  preferred. 

132.  COFFEA  LIBERICA. — The  Liberian  coffee,  cultivated  in  Africa,  of  which  country 

it  is  a  native.  This  plant  is  of  larger  and  stronger  growth  than  the  Ara- 
bian coffee  plant  and  the  fruit  is  larger.  This  species  is  of  recent  introduc- 
tion to  commerce,  and  although  it  was  reported  as  being  more  prolific  than 
the  ordinary  coffee  plant,  the  statement  has  not  been  borne  out  in  Brazil 
and  Mexico,  where  it  has  been  tested.  It  is  also  more  tender  than  the  older 
known  species. 

133.  COLA  ACUMINATA. — An  African  tree,  which  has  been  introduced  into  the  West 

Indies  and  Brazil  for  the  sake  of  its  seeds,  which  are  known  as  Cola,  or 
Kola,  or  Goora  nuts,  and  extensively  used  as  a  sort  of  condiment  by  the 
natives  of  Africa.  A  small  piece  of  one  of  these  seeds  is  chewed  before 
each  meal  to  promote  digestion.  It  possesses  properties  similar  to  the  leaves 
of  coca  and  contains  theine.  These  nuts  have  from  time  immemorial  occu- 
pied a  prominent  place  in  the  dietetic  economy  of  native  tribes  in  Africa, 
and  the  demand  for  them  has  established  a  large  commercial  industry  in 
the  regions  where  they  are  obtained. 

134.  COLOCASIA  ESCULENTA. — This  plant  has  been  recommended  for  profitable  cul- 

ture in  this  country  for  its  edible  root-stock.  It  is  cultivated  in  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  under  the  name  of  Tara.  The  young  leaves  are  cooked  and 
eaten  in  the  same  manner  as  spinach  oV  greens  in  Egypt.  They  are  acrid, 
but  lose  their  acridity  when  boiled,  the  water  being  changed.  The  roots  are 
filled  with  starch,  and  have  long  been  used  as  food  in  various  semitropical 
countries. 

135.  CONDAMINEA  MACROPHYLLA. — This  plant  belongs  to  the  cinchona  family,  and 

contains  tonic  properties.  The  Peruvian  bark  gatherers  adulterate  the  true 
cinchona  bark  with  this,  but  it  may  be  detected  by  its  white  inner  surface, 
its  less  powerful  bitter  taste,  and-  a  viscidity  not  possessed  by  the  cinchonas. 

136.  CONVOLVULUS  SCAMMONIA. — This  plant  furnishes  the  scammony  of  the  drug- 

gists. 

137.  COOKIA  PUNCTVTA. — A  small-growing  tree  from  China,  which  produces  a  fruit 

known  as  the  Wampee.  This  fruit  is  a  globular  berry,  with  five  or  fewer  coin- 
partments  filled  with  ^uice.  ft  is  much  esteemed  in  China. 


17 

138.  COPAIFERA  OFFICINALIS. — This  tree  yields  balsam  of  copaiba,  used  in  medicine. 

The  balsam  is  collected  by  making  incisions  in  the  stem,  when  the  liquor  is 
said  to  pour  out  copiously;  as  it  exudes  it  is  thin  and  colorless,  but  imme- 
diately thickens  and  changes  to  a  clear  yellow.  Like  many  other  balsams,  it 
is  nearly  allied  to  the  turpentines;  it  has  a  moderately  agreeable  smell,  and 
a  bitter,  biting  taste  of  considerable  duration.  Distilled  with  water  it  yields 
a  limpid  essential  oil. 

139.  COPERNICA  CERIFERA. — The  Carnuba,  or  wax  palm  of  Brazil.    It  grows  about  40 

feet  high,  and  has  a  trunk  6  or  8  inches  thick,  composed  of  very  hard  wood, 
which  is  commonly  employed  in  Brazil  for  building  and  other  purposes.  The 
upper  part  of  the  young  stem  is  soft,  and  yields  a  kind  of  sago,  and  the  bitter 
fruits  are  eaten  by  tb  •*  Indians.  The  young  leaves  are  coated  with  wax,  called 
Carnaub  wax,  which  is  detatched  by  shaking  them,  and  then  melted  and  run 
into  cakes;  it  is  harder  than  beeswax,  and  has  been  used  for  making  candles. 
The  leaves  are  used  for  thatch,  and,  when  young,  are  eaten  by  cattle. 

140.  COPROSMA  ROBUSTA. — A  cinchonacepus  shrub.     The  leaves  of  this  plant  were 

formerly  used  in  some  of  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the  New  Zealanders. 

141.  CORDIA  MYXA. — This  produces  succulent,  mucilaginous,  and  emollient  fruits, 

which  are  eaten.  These  qualities,  combined  with  a  slight  astringency,  have 
led  to  their  use  as  pectorals,  known  as  Sebestens.  The  wood  of  this  tree  is 
said  to  have  furnished  the  material  used  by  the  Egyptians  in  the  construction 
of  their  mummy  cases;  it  is  also  considered  to  be  one  of  the  best  woods  for 
kindling  fire  by  friction. 

143.  CORDYLINE  AUSTRALIS. — The  Australian  Ti,  or  cabbage  tree,  a  palm-like  plant 
of  15  to  20  feet  in  height.  The  whole  plant  is  fibrous,  and  it  has  been  sug- 
gested as  good  for  a  paper-making  material.  The  juice  of  the  roots  and  stem 
contains  a  small  amount  of  sugar,  and  has  been  employed  for  procuring 
alcohol. 

143.  CORYPHA  UMBRACULIFERA. — The  Talipot  palm,  a  native  of  Ceylon,  producing 

gigantic  fan-like  leaves.  These  leaves  have  prickly  stalks  6  or  7  feet  long, 
and  when  fully  expanded  form  a  nearly  complete  circle  of  13  feet  in  diam- 
eter. Large  fans  made  of  these  leaves  are  carried  before  people  of  rank 
among  the  Cinghalese;  they  are  also  commonly  used  as  umbrellas,  and  tents 
are  made  by  neatly  joining  them  together;  they  are  also  used  as  a  substitute 
for  paper,  being  written  upon  with  a  stylus.  Some  of  the  sacred  books  of 
the  Cinghalese  are  composed  of  strips  of  them.  The  hard  seeds  are  used  by 
turners. 

144.  COUROUPITA  GUIANENSIS.— The  fruit  of  this  tree  is  called,  from  its  appearance, 

the  cannon-ball  fruit;  its  shell  is  used  as  a  drinking  vessel,  and  when  fresh 
the  pulp  is  of  an  agreeable  flavor. 

1 15.  CRAT^EVA  QYNANDRA. — This  West  Indian  tree  yields  a  small  fruit  which  has  a 
strong  smell  of  garlic,  hence  it  is  called  the  garlic  pear.  The  bark  is  bitter 
and  used  as  a  tonic. 

146.  CRESCENTIA  CUJETE. — The  calabash  tree  of  the  West  Indies,  where  it  is  valued 

for  the  sake  of  its  fruits,  which  resemble  pumpkins  hi  appearance  and  oc- 
casionally reach  a  diameter  of  18  inches.  Divested  of  their  pulp,  which  is 
not  edible,  they  serve  various  useful  domestic  purposes,  for  carrying  water, 
and  even  as  kettles  for  cooking.  They  are  strong  and  light. 

147.  CROTON  CALSAMIFERUM. — This  West  Indian  shrub  is  sometimes  called  sea-side 

balsam  or  sage.  A  thick,  yellowish,  aromatic  juice  exudes  from  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  broken  branches,  or  wherever  the  stem  has  been  wounded. 
In  Martinique  a  liquor  called  Eau  de  Mantes  is  distilled  from  this  balsamic 
juice  with  spirits  of  wine.  The  young  leaves  and  branches  are  used  in 
warm  baths,  on  account  of  their  agreeable  fragrance  and  reputed  me- 
dicinal virtues. 

148.  CROTON  ELEUTHERIA. — This  plant  furnishes  cascarilla  bark,  used  as  an  aro- 

matic bitter  tonic,  having  no  astringency.  It  has  a  fragrant  smell  when 
burnt,  on  which  account  it  has  been  mixed  with  smoking  tobacco. 

[49.  CROTON  TIGLIUM. — A  plant  of  the  family  Euphorbiacece,  from  the  Indian 
Archipelago,  which  produces  the  seeds  from  whence  croton  oil  is  extracted. 
It  is  a  very  powerful  medicine,  and  eveji  in  pressing  the  seeds  for  the  pur- 
pose of  extracting  the  oil,  the  workmen,  ^re  subject  to  irritation  of  the  eyes 
and  other  casualties, 
28582 2 


18 

150.  CUBED  A  OFFICINALIS. — A  native  of  Java,  which  furnishes  the  cubeb  fruits  of 

commerce.  These  fruits  are  like  black  pepper,  but  stalked,  and  have  an 
acrid,  hot,  aromatic  taste;  frequently  used  medicinally. 

151.  CURCAS    PURGANS. — A  tropical  plant  cultivated  in  many  warm  countries  for 

the  sake  of  its  seeds,  known  as  physic  nuts.  The  juice  of  the  plant,  which 
is  milky,  acrid,  and  glutinous,  produces  an  indellible  brown  stain,  on  linen. 
The  oil  from  the  seeds  is  used  for  burning  in  lamps;  and  in  paints.  In 
China  it  is  boiled  with  oxide  of  iron  and  used  as  a  varnish.  It  is  also  used 
medicinally. 

152.  CURCUMA  LONGA. — A  plant  belonging  to  the  Zingiberacece,  the  roots  of  which 

furnish  turmeric.  This  powder  is  used  in  India  as  a  mild  aromatic,  and 
for  other  medicinal  purposes.  It  also  enters  into  the  composition  of  curry- 
powder,  and  a  sort  of  arrow  root  is  made  from  the  young  tubers. 

153.  CURCUMA  ZEDOARIA. — This  plant  furnishes  zedoary  tubers,  much  used  in  India 

as  aromatic  tonics. 

154.  CYATHEA  MEDULLARIS. — This  beautiful  tree  fern  is  a  native  of  Australia, 

where  it  attains  a  height  of  25  to  30  feet,  having  fronds  from  10  to  15  feet  in 
length.  It  contains  a  pulpy  substance  in  the  center  of  the  stem,  of  a  starchy, 
mucilaginous  nature,  which  is  a  common  article  of  food  with  the  natives. 
The  trees  have  to  be  destroyed  in  order  to  obtain  it. 

155.  CYBISTAX   ANTISYPHILITICA. — A  plant  of  the  order  of  Bignoniacece,  called 

Atunyangua  in  the  Andes  of  Peru,  where  the  inhabitants  dye  their  cotton 
"lothes  by  boiling  them  along  with  the  leaves  of  this  plant;  the  dye  is  a  per- 
manent blue.  The  bark  of  the  young  shoots  is  much  employed  in  medicine. 

156.  CYCAS  REVOLUTA. — The    sago  palm  of    gardens.     The  stem  of   the  plants 

abounds  in  starch,  which  is  highly  esteemed  in  Japan.  A  gum  exudes  from 
the  trunk  of  the  old  plant,  which  is  employed  medicinally  by  the  natives  of 
India. 

157.  CYCAS  CIRCINALIS. — A  native  of  Malabar,  where  a  kind  of  sago  is  prepared 

from  the  seeds,  which  are  dried  and  powdered;  medicinal  properties  are  also 
attributed  to  the  seeds. 

158.  DACRYDIUM  FRANKLINII. — Called  Huon  pine,  because  of  its  being  found  near 

the  Huon  River,  in  Tasmania.  It  belongs  to  the  yew  family.  It  furnishes 
valuable  timber,  very  durable,  and  is  used  for  ship  and  house  building ; 
some  of  the  wood  is  very  beautifully  marked,  and  is  used  in  furniture  mak- 
ing and  cabinetwork. 

159.  DALBERGIA  sissoo. — A  tree  of  northern  India,  the  timber  of  which  is  known 

as  Sissum  wood.     This  wrood  is  strong,  tenacious,  and  compact,  much  used 
•    for  railway  ties  and  for  gun-carriages. 

160.  DAMARA  AUSTRALIS.— A  singular  plant  of  the  Coniferce,  family,  called  the 

Kauri  pine.  It  forms  a  tree  150  to  200  feet  in  height,  and  produces  a  hard, 
brittle  resin-like  copal,  which  is  used  in  varnish. 

161.  DASYLIRION  ACROTRICHUM.— A  plant  of  the  pineapple  family,  from  Mexico. 

The  leaves  contain  a  fine  fiber,  which  may  be  ultimately  more  extensively 
utilized  than  it  is  at  present. 

162.  DESMODIUM  GYRANS.— An  interesting  plant  of  the  pea  family,  called  the  mov- 

ing plant,  on  account  of  the  rotatory  motion  of  the  leaflets.  These  move  in 
all  conceivable  ways,  either  steadily  or  by  jerks.  Sometimes  only  one  leaf  or 
two  on  the  plant  will  be  affected ;  at  other  times  a  nearly  simultaneous 
movement  may  be  seen  in  all  the  leaves.  These  movements  are  most  ener- 
getic when  the  thermometer  marks  about  80°.  This  motion  is  not  due  to 
any  external  or  mechanical  irritation  . 

163.  DIALIUM  ACUTIFOLIUM. — The  velvet  tamarind,  so   called,  from  the  circum- 

stance that  its  seed-pods  are  covered  with  a  beautiful  black  velvet  down . 
The  seeds  are  surrounded  by  a  farinaceous  pulp  of  an  agreeable  acid  taste. 

164.  DIALIUM  INDUM.— The  tamarind  plum,  which  has  a  delicious  pulp  of  slightly 

acid  flavor. 

165.  DICKSONIA  ANTARCTICA.— The  large  fern  tree  of  Australia.     This  plant  attains 

the  height  of  30  or  more  feet,  and  its  fronds  or  leaves  spread  horizontally 
some  20  to  25  feet.  It  is  found  in  snowy  regions,  and  would  be  perfectly 
hardy  south.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  objects  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  when 
of  sufficient  size  to  show  its  true  beauties. 

166.  DIEFFENBACHIA  SEGUINA. — This  has  acquired  the  name  of  dumb  cane,  in  con- 

sequence of  its  fleshy,  cane-like  stems,  rendering  speechless   any  person 


19 

who  may  happen  to  bite  them,  their  acrid  poison  causing  the  tongue  to 
swell  to  an  immense  size.  An  ointment  for  applying  to  dropsical  swellings 
is  prepared  by  boiling  the  juice  in  lard.  Notwithstanding  its  acridity,  a 
wholesome  starch  is  prepared  from  the  stem. 

1C7.  DILLENIA  SPECIOSA. — An  East  Indian  tree,  bearing  a  fruit  which  is  used  in  cur- 
ries and  for  making  jellies.  Its  slightly  acid  juice,  sweetened  with  sugar, 
forms  a  cooling  beverage.  The  wood  is  very  tough,  and  is  used  for  making 
gun-stocks. 

168.  DION  EDULE. — A  Mexican  plant,  bearing  large  seeds  containing  a  quantity  of 

starch,  which  is  separated  and  used  as  arrow  root. 

169.  DIOSPYROS  EBENUM. — An  East  Indian  tree  which  in  part  yields  the  black 

ebony  wood  of  commerce,  much  used  in  fancy  cabinetwork  and  turnery, 
door  knobs,  pianoforte  keys,  etc. 

170.  DIOSPYROS  KAKI. — The  Chinese  date  plum  or  persimmon.  The  fruits  vary  in  size 

from  that  of  a  medium-sized  apple  to  that  of  a  large  pear ;  they  also  vary 
much  in  their  flavor  and  consistency,  some  being  firm,  and  others  having  a 
soft  custard-like  pulp,  very  sweet  and  luscious.  The  Chinese  dry  them  in 
the  sun  and  make  them  into  sweetmeats  ;  they  are  sometimes  'imported, 
and  in  appearance  resemble  large-sized  preserved  figs.  These  plants  are 
being  quite  largely  cultivated  in  some  of  the  southern  States,  and  the  fruit 
is  entering  commerce. 

171.  DIPTERIX  ODORATA. — This  leguminous  plant  yields  the  fragrant  send  known 

us  Tonka  bean,  used  in  scenting  snuff  and  for  other  purposes  of  prefumery. 
The  odor  resembles  that  of  new-mown  hay,  and  is  due  to  the  presence  of 
coumarine.  The  tree  is  a  native  of  Cayenne  and  grows  60  to  80  feet  high. 

172.  DORSTENIA  CONTRA  YERVA. — A  plant  from  tropical  America,  the  roots  of  which 

are  used  in  medicine  under  the  name  of  Contrayerva  root. 

173.  DRACAENA   DRACO.— The  Dragon's  Blood  tree  of  Teneriffe.     This  liliaceous 

plant  attains  a  great  age  and  enormous  size.  The  resin  obtained  from  this 
tree  has  been  found  in  the  sepulchral  caves  of  the  Cuanches,  and  hence  it 
is  supposed  to  have  been  used  by  them  in  embalming  the  dead.  Trees  of 
this  species,  at  present  in  vigorous  health,  are  supposed  to  be  as  old  as  the 
pyramids  of  Egypt. 

174.  DRAC^NOPSIS  AUSTRALIS.— Ti  or  cabbage  tree  of  New  Zealand.    The  whole 

of  this  plant  is  fibrous  and  has  been  used  for  paper  making.  The  juice  of 
the  roots  and  stem  contains  a  small  amount  of  sugar  and  has  been  used  for 
producing  alcohol. 

175.  DRIMYS  WINTERI. — This  plant  belongs  to  the  magnolia  family  and  furnishes  the 

aromatic  tonic  known  as  Winter's  bark.  It  is  a  native  of  Chili  and  the 
Strait  of  Magalhaens. 

176.  DRYOBALANOPS  AROMATICA. — A  native  of  the  Island  of  Sumatra.    It  furnishes 

a  liquid  called  camphor  oil  and  a  crystalline  solid  known  as  Sumatra  or 
Borneo  camphor.  Camphor  oil  is  obtained  from  incisions  in  the  tree,  and 
has  a  fragrant,  aromatic  odor.  It  has  been  used  for  scenting  soap.  The 
solid  camphor  is  found  in  cracks  of  the  wood,  and  is  obtained  by  cutting 
down  the  tree,  dividing  it  into  blocks  and  small  pieces,  from  the  interstices 
of  which  the  camphor  is  extracted.  It  differs  from  the  ordinary  camphor 
in  being  more  brittle  and  not  condensing  on  the  sides  of  the  bottle  in  which 
it  is  kept.  It  is  much  esteemed  by  the  Chinese,  who  attribute  many  vir- 
tues to  it.  It  has  been  long  known  and  is  mentioned  by  Marco  Polo  in  the 
thirteenth  century. 

177.  DUBOSIA  HOPWOODH.— The  leaves  of  this  Australian  plant  are  chewed  by  the 

natives  of  Central  Australia,  just  as  the  Peruvians  and  Chilians  masticate 
the  leaves  of  the  Erythroxylon  coca,  to  invigorate  themselves  during  their 
long  foot  journeys  through  the  country.  They  are  known  as  Pitury  leaves. 

178.  DURIO  ZIBETHIXUS. — A  common  tree  in  the  Malayan  Islands,  where  its  fruit 

forms  a  great  part  of  the  food  of  the  natives.  It  is  said  to  have  a  most  deli- 
cious flavor  combined  with  a  most  offensive  odor,  but  when  once  the  repug- 
nance of  the  peculiar  odor  is  overcome  it  becomes  a  general  favorite.  The 
unripe  fruit  is  cooked  and  eaten,  and  the  seeds  roasted  and  used  like  chest- 
nuts. 

179.  EL^EIS  GUINEENSIS. — The  African  oil  palm  is  a  native  of  southwestern  Africa, 

but  has-been  introduced  into  other  regions.     It  grows  to  a  height  of  20  to  30 


20 

feet  and  bears  dense  heads  of  fruit.  The  oil  is  obtained  by  boiling  the  fruits 
in  water  and  skimming  off  the  oil  as  it  rises  to  the  surface.  It  is  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  candies.  In  Africa  it  is  eaten  as  butter  by  the  natives. 

180.  EL.EIS  MELANOCOCCA. — A  palm  from  tropical  America  which  produces  large 

quantities  of  oil. 

181.  EL^OCARPUS  HINAU.— A  New  Zealand  tree,  of  the  linden  family.     The  bark 

atf  ords  an  excellent  permanent  dye,  varying  from  light  brown  to  deep  black. 
The  fruits  are  surrounded  by  an  edible  pulp,  and  they  are  frequently  pickled 
like  olives. 

182.  ELETTARIA  CARD AMOMUM.— This  plant  furnishes  the  fruits  known  as  the  Small 

or  Malabar  cardamoms  of  commerce.  The  seeds  are  used  medicinally  for 
their  cordial  aromatic  properties,  which  depend  upon  the  presence  of  a  vola- 
tile oil.  In  India  the  fruits  are  chewed  by  the  natives  with  their  betel. 

183.  EMBLICA  OFFICINALIS. — A  plant  belonging  to  Euphorbiacece,  a  native  of  India. 

In  Borneo  the  bark  and  young  shoots  are  used  to  dye  cotton  black,  for 
which  purpose  they  are  boiled  in  alum.  The  fruits  are  made  into  sweet- 
meats, with  sugar,  or  eaten  raw,  but  they  are  exceedingly  acid;  when  ripe 
and  dry,  they  are  used  in  medicine,  under  the  name  of  Myrobalani  emblici. 
The  natives  of  Travancore  have  a  notion  that  the  plant  imparts  a  pleasant 
flavor  to  water,  and  therefore  place  branches  of  the  tree  in  their  weils, 
especially  when  the  water  is  charged  with  an  accumulation  of  impure 
vegetable  matter. 

184.  ENCKEA  UNGUICULATA.—  A  plant  of  the  family  Piperacece,  having  an  aromatic 

fruit  like  a  berry,  with  a  thick  rind.  The  roots  are  used  medicinally  in 
Brazil. 

185.  ENTADA  SCANDENS. — This  leguminous  plant  has  remarkable  pods,  which  often 

measure  6  or  8  feet  in  length.  The  seeds  are  about  2  inches  across,  and 
half  an  inch  thick,  and  have  a  hard,  woody,  and  beautifully  polished  shell, 
of  a  dark-brown  or  purplish  color.  These  seeds  are  frequently  converted 
into  snuff-boxes  and  other  articles,  and  in  the  Indian  bazars  they  are  used 
as  weights. 

186.  ERIODENDRON  ANFRACTUOSUM. — The  silk-cotton,  or  God  tree  of   the  West 

Indies.  The  fruit  is  a  capsule,  filled  with  a  beautiful  silky  fiber,  which  is 
very  elastic,  but  can  not  be  woven,  and  is  only  used  for  stuffing  cushions. 

187.  ERYTHRINA  CAFFRA. — The  Kaffir  tree  of  South  Africa.    The  wood  is  soft  and 

so  light  as  to  be  used  for  floating  fishing  nets.  The  scarlet  seeds  are  employed 
for  making  necklaces.  The  Erythrinas,  of  which  there  are  many  species, 
are  mostly  remarkable  for  the  brilliant  scarlet  of  their  flowers,  and  are 
known  as  Coral  trees. 

188.  ERYTHRINA  UMBROSA. — This  is  a  favorite  tree  for  growing  in  masses,  for  the 

purpose  of  sheltering  cocoanut  plantations,  and  inducing  a  proper  degree 
of  moisture  in  their  neighborhood. 

189.  ERYTHROXYLON  COCA. — The  leaves  of  this  plant,  under  the  name  of  coca,  are 

much  used  by  the  inhabitants  of  South  America  as  a  masticatory.  It  forms 
an  article  of  commerce  among  the  Indians,  who  carefully  dry  the  leaves  and 
use  them  daily.  Their  use,  in  moderation,  acts  as  a  stimulant  to  the  nervous 
system  and  enables  those  who  chew  them  to  perform  long  journeys  without 
any  other  food.  The  use  of  coca  in  Peru  is  a  very  ancient  custom,  said  to 
have  originated  with  the  Incas.  It  is  common  throughput  the  greater  part 
of  Peru,  Quito,  New  Granada;  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Negro  it  is  known 
as  Spadic.  A  principle,  called  cocaine,  has  been  extracted  from  the  leaves, 
which  is  used  in  medicine. 

190.  EUCALYPTUS  AMYGDALINA. — The  peppermint  tree,  a  native  of  Tasmania.    It 

produces  a  thin,  transparent  oil  possessed  of  a  pungent  odor  resembling  oil 
of  lemons,  and  tasting  like  camphor, which  has  great  solvent  properties.  The 
genus  Eucalyptus  is  extensive  and  valuable.  The  greater  number  form 
large  trees,  known  in  Australia  as  gum  trees. 

191.  EUCALYPTUS  GIGANTEA. — This  stringy  bark  gum  furnishes  a  strong,  durable 

timber,  used  for  shipbuilding  and  other  purposes.  E.  robusta  contains 
large  cavities  in  its  stem,  between  the  annual  concentric  circles  of  wood, 
filled  with  a  red  gum.  Many  of  the  species  yield  gums  and  astringent 
principles  and  also  a  species  of  manna.  The  timber  of  these  trees  has  been 
pronounced  to  be  unsurpassed  for  strength  and  durability  by  any  other 
timber  known.  The  leaves  of  these  trees  are  placed  vertically  to  the  sun, 
a  provision  suited  to  a  dry  and" sultry  climate, 


21 

192.  EUCALYPTUS  GLOBULUS. — The  blue  gum,  a  rapid-growing  tree,  attaining  to 

a  lar-v  si/.e.  KVcontly  it  has  attracted  attention  and  gained  some  repute  in 
in«-ilicine  :ts  an  anti|MTi<><li<-.  The  leaves  have  also  l>c<>n  applied  to  wounds 
witli  some  success.  It  produces  a  strong  camphor-smelling  oil,  which  has  a 
mint-like  taste,  not  at  all  disagreeable. 

193.  EUGENIA  ACRIS. — The  wild  clove  or  bayberry  tree  of  the  West  Indies.    In 

Jamaica  it  is  sometimes  called  the  black  cinnamon.  The  refreshing  per- 
fume known  as  bay  rum  is  prepared  by  distilling  the  leaves  of  this  tree 
with  rum.  It  is  stated  that  the  leaves  of  the  allspice  are  also  used  in 
this  preparation. 

194.  EUGENIA  JAMBOSA. — A  tropical  plant,  belonging  to  the  myrtle  family,  which 

produces  a  pleasant  rose-flavored  fruit,  known  as  the  Roseapple,  or  Jamro- 
sade. 

195.  EUGENIA  PIMENTO. — The  fruits  of  this  West  Indian  tree  are  known  in  com- 

merce as  allspice;  the  berries  have  a  peculiarly  grateful  odor  and  flavor, 
resembling  a  combination  of  cloves,  nutmeg,  and  cinnamon;  hence  the 
name  of  allspice.  The  leaves  when  bruised  emit  a  fine  aromatic  odor,  and 
a  delicate  odoriferous  oil  is  distilled  from  them,  which  is  said  to  be  used  as 
oil  of  cloves.  The  berries,  bruised  and  distilled  with  water,  yield  the 
pimento  oil  of  commerce. 

190.  EUGENIA  UGNI.— This  small-foliaged  myrtaceous  plant  is  a  native  of  Chili.  It 
bears  a  glossy  black  fruit,  which  has  an  agreeable  flavor  and  perfume,  and 
is  highly  esteemed  in  its  native  country.  The  plant  is  hardy  in  the  South- 
ern States. 

197,  EUPHORBIA  CANARIENSIS. — This  plant  grows  in  abundance  in  the  Canary 

Islands  and  Teneriffe,  in  dry,  rocky  districts,  where  little  else  can  grow, 
and  where  it  attains  a  height  of  10  feet,  with  the  branches  spreading  15  or 
20  feet.  It  is  one  of  the  kinds  that  furnish  the  drug  known  as  Euphorbium. 
The  milky  juice  exudes  from  incisions  made  in  the  branches,  and  is  so 
acrid  that  it  excoriates  the  hand  when  applied  to  it.  As  it  hardens  it  falls 
down  in  small  lumps,  and  those  who  collect  it  are  obliged  to  tie  cloths  over 
their  mouths  and  nostrils  to  exclude  the  small,  dusty  particles,  as  they  pro- 
duce incessant  sneezing.  As  a  medicine  its  action  is  violent,  and  it  is  now 
rarely  employed.  There  are  a  vast  number  of  species  of  Euphorbia,  vary- 
ing exceedingly  in  their  general  appearance,  but  all  of  them  having  a  milky 
juice  which  contains  active  properties.  Many  of  them  can  scarcely  be  dis- 
tinguished from  cactuses  so  far  as  relates  to  external  appearances,  but  the 
milky  exudation  following  a  puncture  determines  their  true  character.  E. 
grandidens  is  a  tall-growing,  branching  species,  and  attains  a  height  of  30 
feet.  The  natives  of  India  use  the  juice  of  E.  antiquorum,  when  diluted, 
as  a  purgative.  The  juice  of  E.  heptagona  and  other  African  species  is  em- 
ployed to  poison  arrows;  the  juice  of  E.  cotinifolia  is  used  for  the  same 
purpose  in  Brazil.  The  roots  of  E.  gerardiana  and  E.pithyusa  are  emetic, 
while  E.  thymifolia  and  E.  hyperitifolia  possess  astringent  and  aromatic 
properties.  The  poisonous  principle  which  pervades  these  plants  is  more 
or  less  dissipated  by  heat.  The  juice  of  E.  cattimandoo  furnishes  caout- 
chouc of  a  very  good  quality,  which,  however,  becomes  brittle,  although 
soaking  in  hot  water  renders  it  again  pliable.  E.  phosphorea  derives  the 
name  from  the  fact  of  its  sap  emitting  a  phosphorescent  light,  on  warm 
nights,  in  the  Brazilian  forests. 

198.  EUTERPE  EDULIS. — The  assai  palm  of  Para.     It  grows  in  swampy  lands,  and  pro- 

duces a  small  fruit  thinly  coated  with  clotted  flesh  of  which  the  inhabitants 
of  Para  manufacture  a  beverage  called  assai.  The  ripe  fruits  are  soaked 
in  warm  water  and  kneaded  until  the  fleshy  pulp  is  detached.  This,  when 
strained,  is  of  a  thick,  creamy  consistence,  and,  when  thickened  with 
cassava  farina  and  sweetened  with  sugar,  forms  a  nutritious  diet,  and  is 
the  daily  food  of  a  large  number  of  the  people. 

109.  EITERPE  MONTANA.— The  center  portion  of  the  upper  part  of  the  stem  of  this 
West  Indian  palm,  including  the  leaf  bud,  is  eaten  either  when  cooked  as 
a  vegetable  or  pickled,  but  the  tree  must  be  destroyed  in  order  to  obtain  it. 

200.  EXCCECARIA  SEBIFERA.— This  Euphorbiaceous  plant  is  the  tallow  tree  of  Clmia. 
Tin-  fruits,  are  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  each  contains  three 
seeds,  thickly  coated  with  a  fatty  substance  which  yields  the  tallow.  This 
is  obtained  by  first  steaming  the  seeds,  then  bruising  them  to  loosen  the  fat 
without  breaking  the  seeds,  which  are  removed  by  sifting.  The  fat  is 
then  made  into  flat  circular  cakes  and  pressed,  when  the  pure  tallow  ex- 


22 

udes  in  a  liquid  state  and  soon  hardens  into  a  white,  brittle  mass.  Candles 
made  from  this  get  soft  in  hot  weather,  which  is  prevented  by  coating  them 
with  insect  wax.  A  liquid  oil  is  obtained  from  the  seeds  by  pressing.  The 
tree  yields  a  hard  wood,  used  by  the  Chinese  for  printing  blocks,  and  its 
leaves  are  used  in  dyeing  black. 

201.  EXOGONIUM  PURGA. — This  plant  furnishes  the  true  jalap-tubers  of  commerce. 

They  owe  their  well-known  purgative  properties  to  their  resinous  ingredi- 
ents. Various  species  of  Ipomoea  furnish  a  spurious  kind  of  this  drug, 
which  is  often  put  in  the  market  as  the  genuine  article. 

202.  EXOSTEMMA  CARIB^UM. — This  West  Indian  plant  has  become  naturalized  in 

southern  Florida.  It  belongs  to  the  cinchona  family  and  is  known  as 
Jamaica  bark.  It  is  also  known  as  Quinquina  Caraibe.  The  bark  is  re- 
puted to  be  a  good  febrifuge,  and  also  to  be  employed  as  an  emetic.  It  is 
supposed  to  contain  some  peculiar  principle,  as  the  fracture  displays  an 
abundance  of  small  crystals.  The  capsules,  before  they  are  ripe,  are  very 
bitter,  and  their  juice  causes  a  burning  itching  on  the  lips. 

203.  FERONIA  ELEPHANTUM. — The  wood  apple  or  elephant  apple  tree  of  India, 

belonging  to  the  family  Aurantiacece.  It  forms  a  large  tree  in  Ceylon,  and 
yields  a  hard,  heavy  wood,  of  great  strength.  It  yields  a  gum,  which  is 
mixed  with  other  gums  and  sold  under  the  name  of  East  Indian  gum 
arabic.  The  fruit  is  about  the  size  of  an  orange,  and  contains  a  pulpy 
flesh,  which  is  edible,  and  a  jelly  is  made  from  it,  which  is  used  in  cases  of 
dysentery.  The  leaves  have  an  odor  like  that  of  anise,  and  the  native 
India  doctors  employ  them  as  a  stomachic  and  carminative. 

204.  FEUILL^EA  CORDIPOLIA. — The  sequa  or  cacoon  antidote  of  Jamaica.     It  belongs 

to  the  cucumber  family,  and  climbs  to  a  great  height  up  the  trunks  of 
trees.  The  seeds  are  employed  as  a  remedy  in  a  variety  of  diseases,  and 
are  considered  an  antidote  against  the  effects  of  poison;  they  also  contain 
a  quantity  of  semisolid  fatty  oil,  which  is  liberated  by  pressing  a  .id  boil- 
ing them  in  water. 

205.  Ficus  ELASTICA. — This  plant  is  known  as  the  india-rubber  tree.     It  is  a  native 

of  the  East  Indies,  and  is  the  chief  source  of  caoutchouc  from  that  quarter 
of  the  globe,  although  other  species  of  Ficus  yield  this  gum,  as  well  as  sev- 
eral plants  of  other  genera.  It  is  a  plant  of  rapid  growth,  and  from  the 
larger  branches  roots  descend  to  the  earth  as  in  the  case  of  the  banyan  tree. 

206.  Ficus  INDICA. — The  famous  banyan  tree  of  history.     Specimens  of  this  Indian 

fig  are  mentioned  as  being  of  immense  size.  One  in  Bengal  spreads  over  a 
diameter  of  370  feet.  Another  covered  an  area  of  1,700  square  yards.  It 
is  one  of  the  sacred  trees  of  the  Hindoos.  It  was  known  to  the  ancients.  • 
Strabo  describes  it,  and  it  is  mentioned  by  Pliny.  Milton  also  alludes  to  it 
as  follows: 

Branching  so  broad  along,  that  in  the  ground 
The  bending  twigs  take  root;  and  daughters  grow 
About  the  mother  tree;  a  pillared  shade, 
High  overarched,  with  echoing  walks  between. 
There  oft  the  Indian  herdsman,  shunning  heat, 
Shelters  in  cool ;  and  tends  his  pasturing  herds 
At  loop-holes  cut  through  thickest  shade. 

207.  Ficus  RELIGIOSA. — The  pippul  tree  of  the  Hindoos,  which  they  hold  in  such 

veneration  that,  if  a  person  cuts  or  lops  off  any  of  the  branches,  he  is  looked 
upon  with  as  great  abhorrence  as  if  he  had  broken  the  leg  of  one  of  their 
equally  sacred  cows.  The  seeds  are  employed  by  Indian  doctors  in  medicine. 

208.  FLACOURTIA  SEPIARIA. — A  bushy  shrub,  used  in  India  for  hedges.     Its  fruit 

has  a  pleasant,  subacid  flavor  when  perfectly  ripe,  but  the  unripe  fruit  is 
extremely  astringent.  The  Indian  doctors  use  a  liniment  made  of  the  bark 
in  cases  of  gout,  and  an  infusion  of  it  as  a  cure  for  snake  bites. 

209.  FOURCROYA  CUBENSE. — This  plant  is  closely  related  to  the  agave,  and,  like 

many  of  that  genus,  furnishes  a  fine  fiber,  which  is  known  in  St.  Domingo 
as  Cabuya  fiber.  These  plants  are  very  magnificent  when  in  flower,  throw- 
ing up  stems  20  to  30  feet  in  height,  covered  with  many  hundreds  of  yucca- 
like  blossoms. 

210.  FRANCISCEA  UNIFLORA. — A  Brazilian  plant  called  Mercurio  vegetal;  also  known 

as  Manaca.  The  roots,  and  to  some  extent  the  leaves,  are  used  in  medicine; 
the  inner  bark  and  all  the  herbaceous  parts  are  nauseously  bitter;  it  is  re- 


23 

as  a  purgative,  emetic,  and  alexrphannic;    in  overdoses  it  is  an 
acrid  poison. 

•.Ml.  Fi  s  AM  -s  A<  t  MIN  ATUS.— A  small  tree  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Australia. 
It  l>ears  a  globular  fruit  of  the  size  of  a  small  peach,  and  is  known  in  Aus- 
tralia as  the  native  peach.  It  has  an  edible  nut,  called  the  Quandang  nut, 
which  is  said  to  be  as  sweet  and  palatable  as  the  almond. 

212.  GALIPEA  OFFICINALIS. — This  South  American  tree  furnishes  Angostura  bark, 

which  lias  ini]M>rtant  medical  properties,  some  physicians  in  South  America 
preferring  it  to  cinchona  in  the  treatment  of  fevers.  Its  use  has  been 
>iatly  retarded  by  bark  of  the  deadly  nux-vomica  tree  having  been 
inadvertently  sold  for  it.  As  this  bark  is  sometimes  used  in  bitters,  a  mis- 
take, as  above,  might  prove  as  fatal  as  cholera. 

213.  GAKCINIA  MANGOSTANA.— This  tree  produces  the  tropical  fruit  called  mangos- 

tern,  a  beautiful  fruit,  having  a  thick,  succulent  rind,  which  contains  an 
astringent  juice,  and  exudes  a  gum  similar  to  gamboge.  The  esculent 
interior  contains  a  juicy  pulp,  of  the  whiteness  and  solubility  of  snow,  and 
of  a  refreshing,  delicate,  delicious  flavor.  The  bark  of  the  tree  is  used  as  a 
basis  for  black  dye,  and  it  has  also  some  medicinal  value. 

21 1.  GARCINIA  MORELLA. — It  is  supposed  that  Siam  gamboge  is  obtained  from  this 
tiv.-.  also  that  known  as  Ceylon  gamboge.  The  juice  is  collected  by  incis- 
ing the  stems,  or  by  breaking  young  twigs  of  the  tree  and  securing  the 
yellow  gum  resinous  exudations  in  hollow  bamboos,  where  it  is  allowed  to 
harden.  It  is  employed  by  artists  in  water  colors  and  as  a  varnish  for 
lacquer  work. 

21.">.  GARCINIA  PICTORIA.— A  fatty  matter  known  as  gamboge  butter  is  procured 
from  the  seeds  of  this  tree  in  Mysore.  They  are  pounded  in  a  stone  mortar, 
then  boiled  till  the  butter  or  oil  rises  to  the  surface.  It  is  used  as  a  lamp 
oil,  and  sometimes  in  food. 

2  Hi.  GARDENIA  FLORIDA  and  GARDENIA  RADICANS. — Cape  Jasmines,  so  called  from 
a  supposition  that  they  were  natives  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The 
genus  belongs  to  the  cinchona  family.  G.  lucida  furnishes  a  fragrant 
resin  somewhat  similar  to  myrrh.  The  fruit  of  G.  campanulata  is  used 
as  a  cathartic,  and  also  to  wash  out  stains  in  silks.  G.  gummifera  yields  a 
resin  something  like  Elemi. 

217.  GASTROLOBITJM  BILOBIUM. — A  leguminous  plant,  having   poisonous   proper- 

ties. In  western  Australia,  where  it  is  a  native,  farmers  often  lose  their 
cattle  through  their  eating  the  foliage.  Cats  and  dogs  that  eat  the  flesh  of 
these  poisoned  cattle  are  also  poisoned.  G.  obtusum  and  G.  spitiosum 
possess  similar  properties. 

218.  GENIPA  AMERICANA. — This  belongs  to  the  cinchona  family,  and  produces  the 

fruit  called  genipap  or  marmalade  box.  It  is  about  the  size  of  an  orange, 
and  has  an  agreeable  flavor.  The  juice  of  the  fruit  yields  a  bluish-black 
dye,  called  Canito  or  Lana-dye.  This  color  is  very  permanent,  and  is  much 
used  by  Indians  in  South  America. 

219.  GEONOMA  SCHOTTIANA.— A  pretty  Brazilian  palm;  the  leaves  are  used    for 

thatching  huts,  and  other  parts  of  the  plant  are  utilized. 

220.  GOUANIA  DOMINGENSIS. — A  plant  of  the  buckthorn  family,  known  in  Jamaica 

as  Chaw-Stick,  on  account  of  its  thin  branches  being  chewed  as  an  agree- 
able stomachic.  Tooth  brushes  are  made  by  cutting  pieces  of  the  stem  to 
convenient  lengths  and  fraying  out  the  ends.  A  tooth  powder  is  prepared 
by  pulverizing  the  dried  stems.  It  is  said  to  possess  febrifugal  properties, 
and  owing  to  its  pleasant  bitter  taste  it  is  used  for  flavoring  cooling  beverages. 

221.  GREVILLEA  ROBUSTA.— The  silk  oak  tree  of  Australia;  a  tree  that  attains  a 

large  size,  and  is  remarkable  for  the  graceful  beauty  of  its  foliage. 

222.  GREWIA  ASIATICA. — This  Indian  tree  represents  a  genus  of  plants  of  consider- 

able economic  value.  This  particular  species  yields  a  profusion  of  small  red 
fruits  which  are  used  for  flavoring  drinks,  having  a  pleasant  acid  flavor. 
The  fibrous  inner  bark  is  employed  by  the  natives  for  making  fishing  nets, 
ropes,  twine,  and  for  other  similar  purposes. 

223.  GRIAS  CAULIFLORA. — The  anchovy  pear  of  Jamaica.     The  fruit  is  pickled  and 

eaten  like  the  mango,  having  a  similar  taste. 

224.  GUAIACUM  OFFICINALE. — The  wood  of  this  tree  is  called  Lignum  Vitae.     A 

resin,  called  gum  guaiacum,  exudes  frorh  the  stem,  and  is  otherwise  ob- 
tained from  the  wood  by  artificial  means.  It  is  of  a  greenish-brown  color, 


24 

with  a  balsamic  fragrance,  and  is  remarkable  for  the  changes  of  color  it 
undergoes  when  brought  into  contact  with  various  substances.  Gluten 
gives  it  a  blue  tint :  nitric  acid  and  chlorin  change  it  successively  to  green, 
blue,  and  brown.  The  resin  is  used  medicinally  as  also  are  the  bark  and  wood. 

225.  GUAZUMA  TOMENTOSA. — This  plant  is  nearly  allied  to  the  chocolate-nut  tree, 

and  yields  fruits  that  abound  in  mucilage,  as  also  does  the  bark  of  the 
young  shoots.  The  mucilage  is  given  out  in  water,  and  has  been  used  as  a 
substitute  for  gelatin  or  albumen  in  clarifying  cane  juice  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  sugar.  The  timber  is  light,  and  is  employed  for  the  staves  of  sugar 
hogsheads  ;  it  is  known  in  Jamaica  as  bastard  cedar.  A  strong  fiber  is 
obtained  from  the  young  shoots. 

226.  GUILIELMA  SPECIOSA. — The  peach  palm  of  Venezuela.     The  fruits  are  borne 

in  large  drooping  bunches,  and  their  fleshy  outer  portion  contains  starchy 
matter,  which  forms  a  portion  of  the  food  of  the  natives.  They  are  cooked 
and  eaten  with  salt,  and  are  said  to  resemble  a  potato  in  flavor.  A  bever- 
age is  prepared  by  fermenting  them  in  water,  and  the  meal  obtained  from 
them  is  made  into  bread.  The  wood  of  the  old  trees  is  black,  and  so  hard 
as  to  turn  the  edge  of  an  ax. 

227.  H^EMATOXYLON  CAMPECHIANUM. — The  logwood  tree.    This  dyestuff  is  largely 

used  by  calico  printers  and  other  dyeing  manufacturers.  It  is  also  used  as 
an  ingredient  in  some  writing  inks.  The  heart  wood  is  the  part  used  for 
dyeing.  This  is  cut  into  chips  which  yield  their  color  to  water  and  alcohol. 
The  colors  are  various  according  to  treatment,  giving  violet,  yellow,  purple, 
and  blue,  but  the  consumption  of  logwood  is  for  black  colors,  which  are 
obtained  by  alum  and  iron  bases. 

228.  HARDENBERGIA  MONOPHYLLA. — An  Australian  climbing  plant  of  the  legumi- 

nous family.  The  long,  carrot-shaped,  woody  root  was  called,  by  the  early 
settlers  in  that  country,  sarsaparilla,  and  is  still  used  in  infusion  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  that  root. 

229.  HARTIGHSEA  SPECTABILIS. — A  New  Zealand  tree,  called  Wahahe  by  the  natives, 

who  employ  the  leaves  as  a  substitute  for  hops,  and  also  prepare  from 
them  a  spirituous  infusion  as  a  stomachic  medicine. 

230.  HELICONIA  BIHAL—  A  plant  of  the  order  Musacece,  from  South  America.    The 

young  shoots  are  eaten  by  the  natives,  and  the  fruits  are  also  collected  and 
used  as  food.  It  also  furnishes  a  useful  fiber. 

231.  HEVEA  BRASILIENSIS. — A  tree  of  tropical  America  growing  in  damp  forests, 

especially  in  the  Amazon  valley,  which,  together  with  other  trees  called 
siphonia  furnish  the  Para  rubber,  or  American  caoutchouc.  The  sap  is  col- 
lected from  incisions  made  in  the  tree  during" the  dry  season,  and  is  poured 
over  clay  molds  and  dried  by  gentle  heat,  successive  pourings  being  made 
till  a  sufficiently  thick  layer  is  produced. 

232.  HIBISCUS  ROSA  SINENSIS.— The  flowers  of  this  malvaceous  plant  contain  a 

quantity  of  astringent  juice,  and,  when  bruised,  rapidly  turn  black  or 
deep  purple;  they  are  used  by  the  Chinese  ladies  for  dyeing  their  hair  and 
eyebrows,  and  in  Java  for  blacking  shoes. 

233.  HIBISCUS  SABDARIFFA.— -This  species  is  known  in  the  West  Indies  as  red  sor- 

rel, on  account  of  the  calyxes  and  capsules  having  an  acid  taste.  They 
are  made  into  cooling  drinks,  by  sweetening  and  fermentation.  The  bark 
contains  a  strong  useful  fiber  which  makes  good  ropes  if  not  too  much 
twisted.  It  is  also  known  as  the  Roselee  plant. 

234.  HIBISCUS  TILIACEUS. — A  plant  common  to  many  tropical  countries.     Its  wood 

is  extremely  light  when  dry,  and  is  employed  by  the  Polynesians  for  get- 
ting fire  by  friction,  which  is  said  to  be  a  very  tedious  and  tiresome  opera- 
tion, and  difficult  to  accomplish.  Good  fiber  is  also  obtained  from  the  bark. 

235.  HIPPOMANE  MANCINELLA.— This  is  the  poisonous  manchineel  tree  of  South 

America  and  other  tropical  regoins.  The  virulent  nature  of  the  juice  of  this 
tree  has  given  it  a  reputation  equal  to  that  forced  upon  the  upas  tree  of  Java. 
The  juice  is  certainly  very  acrid,  and  even  its  smoke,  when  burning,  causes 
temporary  blindness.  The  fruit  is  equally  dangerous,  and  from  its  beauti- 
ful appearance  is  sometimes  partaken  of  by  those  who  are  unaware  of  its 
deleterious  properties,  but  its  burning  effects  on  the  lips  soon  causes  them 
to  desist.  Indians  are  said  to  poison  their  arrows  with  the  juice  of  this  tree. 

236.  HURA  CREPITANS. — This  tropical  plant  is  known  as  the  sand-box  tree.     Its 

deep-furrowed,  rounded,  hard-shelled  fruit  is  about  the  size  of  an  orange, 
and  when  ripe  and  dry,  it  bursts  open  with  a  sharp  noise  like  the  report  of 


25 

a  pistol;  h.-nee,  it  is  also  called  the  monkey's  dinner  boll.  An  emetic  oil 
is  extracted  from  the  seeds,  and  a  venomous,  milky  juice  is  abundant  in 
all  parts  of  the  plant. 

237  .HYMEN .HA  COURBARIL. — The  locust  tree  of  the  West  Indies;  also  called  algar- 
roba  in  tropical  regions.  This  is  one  of  the  very  largest  growing  trees 
known,  and  living  trees  in  Brazil  are  supposed  to  have  been  growing  at 
the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era.  The  timber  is  very  hard,  and  is 
much  used  for  building  purposes.  A  valuable  resin,  resembling  the  anime 
of  Africa,  exudes  from  the  trunk,  and  large  lumps  of  it  are  found  about 
the  roots  of  old  trees. 

238.  HYPHJE  THEBAICA. — The  doum,  or  doom  palm,  or  gingerbread  of  Egypt;  it 

grows  also  in  Nubia,  Abyssinia,  and  Arabia.  The  fibrous,  mealy  husks  of 
the  seeds  are  eaten,  and  taste  almost  like  gingerbread.  In  the  Thebias  this 
palm  forms  extensive  forests,  the  roots  spreading  over  the  lurid  ruins  of  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  splendid  cities  of  the  ancient  world. 

239.  ICICA  HEPTAPHYLLA.— The  incense  tree  of  Guiana,  a  tall-growing  tree,  fur- 

nishing wood  of  great  durability.  It  is  called  cedar  wood  on  account  of 
its  fragrant  odor.  The  balsam  from  the  trunk  is  highly  odoriferous,  and 
used  in  perfumery,  and  is  known  as  balsam  of  acouchi;  it  is  used  in  medi- 
cine. The  balsam  and  branches  are  burned  as  incense  in  churches. 
2 to.  ILK.Y  PAUAOUAYENSIS. — This  is  the  tea  plant  of  South  America,  where  it  oc- 
cupies the*  same  important  position  in  the  domestic  economy  of  the  country 
as  the  Chinese  tea  does  in  this.  The  mate  is  prepared  by  drying  and  roast- 
ing the  leaves,  which  are  then  reduced  to  a  powder  and  made  into  pack- 
ages. When  used,  a  small  portion  of  the  powder  is  placed  in  a  vessel,  sugar 
is  added,  and  boiling  water  poured  over  the  whole.  It  has  an  agreeable, 
slightly  aromatic  odor,  rather  bitter  to  the  taste,  but  very  refreshing  and 
invigorating  to  the  human  frame  after  severe  fatigue.  It  acts  in  some  de- 
gree as  an  aperient  and  diuretic,  and  in  overdoses  produces  intoxication. 
It  contains  the  same  active  principle,  theine  as  tea  and  coffee,  but  not  their 
volatile  and  empyreumatic  oils. 

241.  ILLICIUM  ANISATUM. — This  inagnoliaceous  plant  is  a  native  of  China,  and  its 

fruit  furnishes  the  star  anise  of  commerce.  In  China,  Japan,  and  India  it 
is  used  as  a  condiment  in  the  preparation  of  food,  and  is  chewed  to  pro- 
mote digestion,  and  the  native  physicians  prescribe  it  as  a  carminative. 
It  is  the  flavoring  ingredient  of  the  preparation  Anisette  de  Bordeaux.  Its 
flavor  and  odor  are  due  to  a  volatile  oil,  which  is  extracted  by  distillation, 
and  sold  as  oil  of  anise,  which  is  really  a  different  article. 

242.  ILLICIUM  FLORID  ANUM. — A  native  of  the  Southern  States.    The  leaves  are  said 

to  be  poisonous;  hence,  the  plant  is  sometimes  called  poison  bag.  The  bark 
has  been  used  as  a  substitute  for  cascarilla. 

243.  ILLICIUM  RELIGIOSUM. — A  Japanese  species,  which  reaches  the  size  of  a  small 

tree,  and  is  held  sacred  by  the  Japanese,  who  form  wreaths  of  it  with  which 
to  decorate  the  tombs  of  their  deceased  friends,  and  they  also  burn  the 
fragrant  bark  as  incense.  Their  watchmen  use  the  powdered  bark  for 
burning  in  graduated  tubes,  in  order  to  mark  the  time,  as  it  consumes  slowly 
and  uniformly.  The  leaves  are  said  to  possess  poisonous  properties. 

244.  INDIQOFERA  TINCTORIA. — The  indigo  plant,  a  native  of  Asia,  but  cultivated 

and  naturalized  in  many  countries.  The  use  of  indigo  as  a  dye  is  of  great 
antiquity.  Both  Dioscorides  and  Pliny  mention  it,  and  it  is  supposed  to 
have  been  employed  by  the  ancient  Egyptians.  The  indigo  of  commerce  is 
prepared  by  throwing  the  fresh  cut  plants  into  water,  where  they  are 
steeped  for  twelve  hours,  when  the  water  is  run  off  into  a  vessel  and  agi- 
tated  in  order  to  promote  the  formation  of  the  blue  coloring  matter,  which 
docs  not  exist  ready  formed  in  the  tissues  of  the  plant,  but  is  the  result  of 
tin-  oxidation  of  other  substances  contained  in  them.  The  coloring  matter 
then  settles  at  the  bottom:  it  is  then  boiled  to  a  certain  consistency  and 
afterwards  spread  out  on  cloth  frames,  where  it  is  further  drained  of  water 
and  pressed  into  cubes  or  cakes  for  market. 

24-").  IPOM.-F.A  ruim.v. — A  species  of  jalap  is  obtained  from  this  convolvulaceous 
plant:  this  is  a  ruinous  matter  eonlained  in  the  juices. 

240.  IRIARTELLA  SETIGERA. — A  South  American  palm  growing  in  the  underwood 

of  the  forests  on  the  Amazon  and  Rio  Negro.  The  Indians  use  its  slender 
stems  for  making  their  blmv  pipes  or  gravatanas,  through  which  they  blow 
small  poisoned  arrows  with  accuracy  to  a  considerable  distance. 


26 

247.  JAMBOSA  MALACCENSIS. — This  Indian  plant  belongs  to  the  myrtle  family.     It 

produces  a  good-sized  edible  fruit  known  as  the  Malay  apple. 

248.  JASMINUM  SAMBAC  TRIFOLIATUM. — A  native  of  South  America.     The  flowers 

are  very  fragrant,  and  an  essential  oil,  much  used  in  perfumery  under  the 
name  of  jasmine  oil,  is  obtained  from  this  and  other  species. 

249.  JATROPHA  CLAUCA. — An  East  Indian  plant  the  seeds  of  which  when  crushed 

furnish  an  oil  which  is  used  in  medicine. 

250.  JATROPHA  CTJRCAS. — The  physic  nut  tree  of  tropical  America.     This  plant  con- 

tains a  milky,  acrid,  glutinous  juice,  which  forms  a  permanent  stain  when 
dropped  on  linen,  and  which  might  form  a  good  marking  ink.  Burning  oil  is 
expressed  from  the  seeds  in  the  Philippine  Islands;  the  oil,  boiled  with  oxide 
of  iron,  is  used  in  China  as  a  varnish.  It  is  used  in  medicine  in  various 
ways,  the  leaves  for  fomentations,  the  juice  in  treating  ulcers,  and  the  seeds 
as  purgatives. 

251.  JUBJEA  SPECTABILIS. — The  coquito  palm  of  Chili.     The  seed  or  nut  is  called 

cokernut,  and  has  a  pleasant,  nutty  taste.  These  are  used  by  the  Chilian  con- 
fectioners in  the  preparation  of  sweetmeats,  and  by  the  boys  as  marbles, 
being  in  shape  and  size  like  them.  The  leaves  are  used  for  thatching,  and 
the  trunks  or  stems  are  hollowed  out  and  converted  into  water  pipes.  A 
sirup  called  Miel  de  Palma  or  palm  honey,  is  prepared  by  boiling  the  sap 
of  this  tree  to  the  consistency  of  treacle,  and  is  much  esteemed  for  do- 
mestic use  as  sugar.  The  sap  is  obtained  by  cutting  off  the  crown  of  leaves 
when  it  immediately  begins  to  flow  and  continues  for  several  months  pro- 
vided a  thin  slice  is  shaved  off  the  top  every  morning.  Full-grown  trees 
will  thus  yield  90  gallons. 

252.  KJEMPFERIA  GALANGA. — This  plant  belongs  to  the  family  of  gingers.     The 

root  stocks  have  an  aromatic  fragrance  and  are  used  medicinally  in  India 
as  well  as  in  the  preparation  of  perfumery.  The  flowers  appear  before  the 
leaves  upon  very  short  stems. 

253.  KIGELIA  PINNATA. — This  plant  is  interesting  from  the  circumstance  of  its  being 

held  sacred  in  Nubia,  where  the  inhabitants  celebrate  their  religious  festivals 
under  it  by  moonlight,  and  poles  made  of  its  wood  are  erected  as  symbols  of 
special  veneration  before  the  houses  of  their  great  chiefs.  The  fruits,  which 
are  very  large,  when  cut  in  half  and  slightly  roasted,  are  employed  as  an 
outward  application  to  relieve  pains. 

254.  KRAMERIA  TRIANDRIA. — This  is  one  of  the  species  that  yield  the  rhatany  roots 

of  commerce.  In  Peru  an  extract  is  made  from  this  species,  which  is  a  mild, 
easily  assimilated,  astringent  medicine.  It  acts  as  a  tonic,  and  is  used  in 
intermittent  and  putrid  fevers.  It  is  also  styptic,  and  when  applied  in  plas- 
ters is  used  in  curing  ulcers.  The  color  of  the  infusion  of  the  roots  is  blood- 
red,  on  which  account  it  is  used  to  adulterate,  or  rather  it  forms  an  ingredi- 
ent in  the  fabrication  of  port  wine. 

255.  KYDIA  CALYCINA. — An  Indian  plant  of  the  family  Byttneriacece.    The  bark  is 

employed  in  infusion  as  a  sudorific  and  in  cutaneous  diseases,  and  its  fibrous 
tissue  is  manufactured  into  cordage. 

256.  LAGETTA  LINTEARIA.—  The  lace-bark  tree  of  Jamaica.    The  inner  bark  con- 

sists of  numerous  concentric  layers  of  fibers,  which  interlace  in  all  directions, 
and  thus  present  a  great  resemblance  to  lace.  Articles  of  apparel  are  made 
of  it.  Caps,  ruffles,  and  even  complete  suits  of  lace  are  made  with  it.  It 
bears  washing  with  common  soap,  and  when  bleached  in  the  sun  acquires  a 
degree  of  whiteness  equal  to  the  best  artificial  lace.  Ropes  made  of  it  are 
very  durable  and  strong. 

257.  LANSIUM  DOMESTICUM.—  A  low-growing  tree  of  the  East  Indies,  which  is  culti- 

vated to  some  extent  for  its  fruit,  which  is  known  in  Java  and  Malacca  as 
lanseh  fruit,  and  is  much  esteemed  for  its  delicate  aroma;  the  pulp  is  of 
somewhat  firm  consistence  and  contains  a  cooling,  refreshing  juice. 

258.  LAPAGERIA  ROSEA. — A  twining  plant  from  Chili.     The  flowers  are  very  beau- 

tiful, and  are  succeeded  by  berries,  which  are  said  to  be  sweet  and  eatable. 
The  root  has  qualities  closely  resembling  sarsaparilla  and  used  for  the  same 
purpose. 

259.  LATANIA  RUBRA. — A  very  beautiful  palm  from  the  Mauritius.     The  fruit  con- 

tains a  small  quantity  of  pulp,  which  is  eaten  by  the  natives,  but  is  not  con- 
sidered very  palatable  by  travelers. 

260.  LAWSONIA  INERMIS.— This  is  the  celebrated  henna  of  the  East.    The  use  of  the 

powdered  leaves  as  a  cosmetic  is  very  general  in  Asia  and  northern  Africa, 


27 

the  practice  having  descended  from  very  remote  ages,  as  is  proved  by  the 
Egyptian  mummies,  the  parts  dyed  being  usually  the  finger  and  toe  nails, 
the  tips  of  the  fingers,  the  palms  of  the  hands,  and  soles  of  the  feet,  receiv- 
ing a  reddish  color,  considered  by  Oriental  belles  as  highly  ornamental. 
Henna  is  prepared  by  reducing  the  leaves  to  powder,  and  when  used  is 
made  into  a  pasty  mass  with  water  and  spread  on  the  part  to  be  dyed,  being 
allowed  to  remain  for  twelve  hours.  The  plant  is  known  in  the  West  In- 
dies as  Jamaica  Mignonette. 

261.  LECYTHIS  OLLARIA. — This  tree  produces  the  hard  urn-shaped  fruits  known  in 

Brazil  as  monkey  cups.  The  seeds  are  eatable  and  sold  as  Sapucaia  nuts. 
The  fruit  vessels  are  very  peculiar,  being  6  inches  in  diameter  and  having 
closely  fitting  lids,  which  separate  when  the  seeds  are  mature.  The  bark  is 
composed  of  a  great  number  of  layers,  not  thicker  than  writing  paper, 
which  the  Indians  separate  and  employ  as  cigar  wrappers. 

262.  LEPTOSPERUM  LANIQERUM. — A  plant  known  throughout  Australia  as  Captain 

Cook's  tea  tree,  from  the  circumstance  that,  on  the  first  landing  of  this  nav- 
igator in  that  country,  he  employed  a  decoction  of  the  leaves  of  this  plant 
as  a  corrective  to  the  effects  of  scurvy  among  his  crew,  and  this  proved  an 
efficient  medicine.  Thickets  of  this  plant,  along  the  swampy  margin  of 
streams,  are  known  as  Tea- tree  scrubs.  It  is  also  known  among  the  natives 
as  the  Manuka  plant.  The  wood  is  hard  and  heavy,  and  was  formerly  used 
for  making  sharp-pointed  spears.  It  belongs  to  the  myrtle  family  of  plants. 

263.  LICUALA  ACDTIFIDA. — This  palm  is  a  native  of  the  island  of  Pulo-Penango,  and 

yields  canes  known  by  the  curious  name  of  Penang  Lawyers.  It  is  a  low- 
growing  plant,  its  stems  averaging  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  stems  are  con- 
verted into  walking  canes  by  scraping  their  rough  exteriors  and  straighten- 
ing them  by  means  of  fire  heat. 

261.  LIMONIA  ACIDISSIMA. — An  East  India  shrub  which  produces  round  fruits  about 
the  size  of  damson  plums,  of  a  yellowish  color,  with  reddish  or  purplish 
tints.  They  are  extremely  acid,  and  the  pulp  is  employed  in  Java  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  soap. 

265.  LIVISTONIA  AUSTRALIS.— This  is  one  of  the  few  palms  found  in  Australia.  The 
unexpanded  leaves,  prepared  by  being  scalded  and  dried  in  the  shade,  are 
used  for  making  hats,  while  the  still  younger  and  more  tender  leaves  are 
eaten  like  cabbage. 

2G6.  LUCUMA  MAMMOSUM. — This  sapotaceous  plant  is  cultivated  for  its  fruit,  which 
is  called  marmalade,  on  account  of  its  containing  a  thick  agreeably  flavored 

dp,  bearing  some  resemblance  in  appearance  and  taste  to  quince  marma- 
e.     A  native  of  South  America. 

267.  MABA  GEMINATA. — The  ebony  wood  of  Queensland.    The  heart  wood  is  black, 

and  the  outside  wood  of  a  bright  red  color.  It  is  close-grained,  hard,  heavy, 
elastic  and  tough,  and  takes  a  high  polish. 

268.  MACADAMIA  TERNIFOLIA. — An  Australian  tree  which  produces  an  edible  nut 

called  the  Queensland  nut.  This  fruit  is  about  the  size  of  a  walnut,  and 
contains  within  a  thick  pericarp,  a  smooth  brown-colored  nut,  inclosing  a 
kernel  of  a  rich  and  agreeable  flavor,  resembling  in  Lome  degree  that  of  a 
filbert. 

269.  MACH.-ERUM  FIRMUM.— A  South  American  tree  which  furnishes  a  portion  of  the 

rosewood  of  commerce.  Various  species  of  the  genus,  under  the  common 
Brazilian  name  of  Jaccaranda,  are  said  to  yield  this  wood,  but  there  is 
some  uncertainty  about  the  origin  of  the  various  commercial  rosewoods. 

270.  MACLURA  TINCTORIA.— The  fustic  tree.     Large  quantities  of  the  bright  yellow 

wood  of  this  tree  are  exported  from  South  America  for  the  use  of  dyers, 
who  obtain  from  it  shades  of  yellow,  brown,  olive,  and  green.  A  concen- 
trated decoction  of  the  wood  deposits,  on  cooling,  a  yellow  crystalline  mat- 
ter called  Morine.  This  tree  is  sometimes  called  old  fustic,  in  order  to 
distinguish  it  from  another  commercial  dye  called  young  fustic,  which  is 
obtained  in  Europe  from  a  species  of  Rhus. 

271.  MACROPIPER  METHYSTICUM.— A  plant  of  the  pepper  family,  which  furnishes  the 

root  called  Ava  by  the  Polynesians.  It  has  narcotic  properties,  and  is  em- 
ployed medicinally,  but  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  value  attached  to  it  as  a 
narcotic  and  stimulant  beverage,  of  which  the  natives  partake  before  they 
commence  any  important  business  or  religious  rites.  It  is  used  by  chewing 
the  root  and  extracting  the  juice,  and  has  a  calming  rather  than  an  intox- 
icating effect.  It  is  a  filthy  preparation,  and  only  partaken  of  by  the  lower 
classes  of  Feejeeans. 


28 

272.  MACROZAMIA  DENISONII. — An  Australian  cycad,  the  seeds  of  which  contain  a 

large  amount  of  farina,  or  starchy  matter,  which  formerly  supplied  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  food  for  the  natives  of  that  country.  The  fresh  seeds 
are  very  acrid,  but  when  steeped  in  water  and  roasted  they  become  palatable 
and  nutritious. 

273.  MALPIGHIA  GLABRA. — A  low-growing  tree  of  the  West  Indies,  which  produces 

an  edible  fruit  called  the  Barbadoes  cherry. 

274.  MAMMEA  AMERICANA. — The  fruit  of  this  tree,  under  the  name  of  mammee 

apple,  is  very  much  esteemed  in  tropical  countries.  It  often  attains  a  size  of 
6  or  8  inches  in  diameter  and  is  of  a  yellow  color.  The  outer  rind  and  the 
pulp  which  immediately  surrounds  the  seeds  are  very  bitter,  but  the  inter- 
mediate is  sweet  and  aromatic.  The  seeds  are  used  as  anthelmintics,  an 
aromatic  liquor  is  distilled  from  the  flowers,  and  the  acrid,  resinous  gum 
distilled  from  the  bark  is  used  to  destroy  insects. 

275.  MANETTIA  CORDIFOLIA. — This  climbing-plant  is  a  native  of  South  America,  and 

belongs  to  the  family  of  Cinchonacece.  The  rind  of  the  root  has  emetic 
properties,  and  is  used  in  Brazil  for  dropsy  and  other  diseases.  It  is  also 
exported  under  the  name  of  Ipecacuan,  chiefly  from  Buenos  Ayres. 

276.  MANGIFERA  INDICA. — The  mango,  in  some  of  its  varieties  esteemed  as  the 

most  delicious  of  tropical  fruits,  while  many  varieties  produce  fruit  whose 
texture  resembles  cotton  and  tastes  of  turpentine.  The  unripe  fruit  is 
pickled.  The  pulp  contains  gallic  and  citric  acid.  The  seeds  possess 
anthelmintic  properties.  A  soft  gum  resin  exudes  from  the  wounded  bark, 
which  is  used  medicinally. 

277.  MANICARIA  SACCIFERA. — Bussu  palm  of  South  America.     Its  large  leaves  are 

used  for  thatching  roofs ,  for  which  purpose  they  are  well  fitted  and  very 
durable.  The  fibrous  spathe  furnishes  a  material  of  much  value  to  the  na- 
tives. This  fibrous  matter  when  taken  off  entire  is  at  once  converted  into 
capital  bags,  in  which  the  Indian  keeps  the  red  paint  for  his  toilet,  or  the 
silk  cotton  for  his  arrows,  or  he  stretches  out  the  larger  ones  to  make  him- 
self a  cap  of  nature's  own  weaving,  without  seam  or  joint. 

278.  MANIHOT  UTILISSIMA. — This  euphorbiaceous  plant  yields  cassava  or  mandiocca 

meal.  It  is  extensively  cultivated  in  tropical  climates  and  supplies  a  great 
amount  of  food.  The  root  is  the  part  used,  and  in  its  natural  condition  is 
a  most  virulent  poison,  but  by  grating  the  roots  to  a  pulp  the  poison  is  ex- 
pelled by  pressure,  and  altogether  dissipated  by  cooking.  The  expressed 
juice,  when  allowed  to  settle,  deposits  the  starch  known  as  tapioca. 

279.  MARANTA  ARUNDINACEA. — The   arrowroot  plant,   cultivated    for  its  starch. 

The  tubers  being  reduced  to  pulp  with  water,  the  fecula  subsides,  and  is 
washed  and  dried  for  commerce.  It  is  a  very  pure  kind  of  starch,  and  very 
nutritious.  The  term  arrowroot  is  said  to  be  derived  from  the  fact  that 
the  natives  of  the  West  Indies  use  the  roots  of  the  plant  as  an  application 
to  wounds  made  by  poison  arrows. 

280.  MAURITIA  FLEXUOSA. — The  Moriche,  or  Ita  palm,  very  abundant  on  the  banks 

of  the  Amazon,  RiQ  Negro,  and  Orinoco  Rivers.  In  the  delta  of  the  lat- 
ter it  occupies  swampy  tracts  of  ground,  which  are  at  times  completely 
inundated,  and  present  the  appearance  of  forests  rising  out  of  the  water. 
These  swamps  are  frequented  by  a  tribe  of  Indians  called  Guaranes,  who 
subsist  almost  entirely  upon  the  produce  of  this  palm,  and  during  the  period 
of  the  inundations  suspend  their  dwellings  from  the  tops  of  its  tall  stems. 
The  outer  skin  of  the  young  leaves  is  made  into  string  and  cord  for  the 
manufacture  of  hammocks.  The  fermented  sap  yields  palm  wine,  and 
another  beverage  is  prepared  from  the  young  fruits,  while  the  soft  inner 
bark  of  the  stem  yields  a  farinaceous  substance  like  sago. 

281.  MAXIMILIANA  REGIA. — An  Amazonian  palm  called  Inaja.     The  spathes  are  so 

hard  that,  when  filled  with  water,  they  will  stand  the  fire,  and  are  some- 
times used  by  the  Indians  as  cooking  utensils.  The  Indians  who  prepare 
the  kind  of  rubber  called  bottle  rubber,  make  use  of  the  hard  stones  of  the 
fruit  as  fuel  for  smoking  and  drying  the  successive  layers  of  niilky  juice  us 
it  is  applied  to  the  mold  upon  which  the  bottles  are  formed.  The  outer 
husk,  also,  yields  a  kind  of  saline  flour  used  for  seasoning  their  food. 

282.  MELALEUCA  MINOR. — A  native  of  Auj  tralia  and  the  islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean. 

The  leaves,  being  fermented,  are  distilled,  and  yield  an  oil  known  as  caju- 
put  or  cajeput  oil,  which  is  green,  and  has  a  strong  aromatic  odor.  It  is 


29 

valuable  as  an  antispasmodic  and  stimulant,  and  at  one  time  had  a  great 
reputation  as  a  cure  for  cholera.  In  China  the  leaves  are  used  as  a  tonic  in 
the  form  of  decoction. 

283.  MELICOCCA  BIJUGA.— This  sapindaceous  tree  is  plentiful  in  tropical  America 
and  the  West  Indies,  and  is  known  as  the  Genip  tree.  It  produces  numer- 
ous green  egg-shaped  fruits,  an  inch  in  length,  possessing  an  agreeable 
vinous  and  somewhat  aromatic  flavor,  called  honey  berries  or  bullace  plums. 
The  wood  of  the  tree  is  hard  and  heavy. 

2*1.  MKLOCACTUS  COMMUNIS. — Commonly  called  the  Turk's  Cap  cactus,  from  the 
flowering  portion  on  the  top  of  the  plant  being  of  a  cylindrical  form  and 
red  color,  like  a  fez  cap.  Notwitlistanding  that  they  grow  in  the  most  dry 
sterile  places,  they  contain  a  considerable  quantity  of  moisture,  which  is 
\\vll  known  to  mules,  who  resort  to  them  when  very  thirsty,  first  removing 
the  prickles  with  their  feet. 

283.  MESEMBRYANTHEMUM  CRYSTALLINUM. — The  ice  plant,  so  called  in  consequence 
of  every  part  of  the  plant  being  covered  with  small  watery  pustules,  which 
glisten  in  the  sun  like  fragments  of  ice.  Large  quantities  of  this  plant  are 
collected  in  the  Canaries  and  burned,  the  ashes  being  sent  to  Spain  for  the 
use  of  glass  makers.  M.  edule  is  called  the  Hottentot's  fig,  its  fruit  being 
about  the  size  of  a  small  fig,  and  having  a  pleasant,  acid  taste  when  ripe. 
M.  tortuosum  possesses  narcotic  properties,  and  is  chewed  by  the  Hottentots 
to  induce  intoxication.  The  fruits  possess  hygrometric  properties,  the 
dried,  shriveled,  capsules  swelling  out  and  opening  so  as  to  allow  of  the  es- 
cape of  the  seeds  when  moistened  by  rain,  which  at  the  same  time  fits  the 
soil  for  their  germination. 

286.  MIKANIA  GUACO. — A  composite  plant  which  has  gained  some  notoriety  as  the 

supposed  Cundurango,  the  cancer-curing  bark.  It  has  long  been  supposed 
to  supply  a  powerful  antidote  for  the  bite  of  venomous  serpents. 

287.  MIMUSOPS  BALATA.— The  Bully  tree.     This  sapotaceous  plant  attains  a  great 

size  in  Guiana  and  affords  a  dense,  close-grained,  valuable  timber.  Its 
small  fruits,  about  the  size  of  coffee  berries,  are  delicious  when  ripe.  The 
flowers  also  yield  a  perfume  when  distilled  in  water,  and  oil  is  expressed 
from  the  seeds. 

288.  MIMUSOPS  ELENGI. — A  native  of  Ceylon,  where  its  hard,  heavy,  durable  timber 

is  used  for  building  purposes.     The  seed  also  affords  a  great  amount  of  oil. 

289.  MONODORA  GRANDIFLORA. — An  African  plant  belonging  to  the  Anonacea3.     It 

produces  large  fruit,  which  contains  a  large  quantity  of  seeds  about  the  size 
of  the  Scarlet-Runner  bean.  They  are  aromatic  and  impart  to  the  fruit  the 
odor  and  flavor  of  nutmeg;  hence  they  are  also  known  as  calabash  nut- 
megs. 

2(JO.  MONSTERA  DELLCIOSA. — This  is  a  native  of  southern  Mexico  and  yields  a  deli- 
cious fruit  with  luscious  pineapple  flavor.  The  outer  skin  of  the  fruit,  if 
eaten,  causes  a  stinging  sensation  in  the  mouth.  This  is  easily  removed 
when  the  fruit  is  ripe.  The  leaves  are  singularly  perforated  with  holes  at 
irregular  intervals,  from  natural  causes  not  sufficiently  explained.  In  Trin- 
idad the  plant  is  called  the  Ceriman. 

201.  MORINGA  PTERYGOSPERMA.— A  native  of  the  East  Indies,  where  it  bears  the 
name  of  horse-radish  tree.  The  seeds  are  called  ben  nuts  and  supply  a 
fluid  oil,  highly  prized  by  watchmakers,  called  oil  of  ben.  The  root  is  pun- 
gent and  stimulant  and  tastes  like  horse-radish. 

292.  MORONOBEA  COCCINEA.— Thehpg  gum  tree,  which  attains  the  height  of  100  feet. 

*  A  fluid  juice  exudes  from  incisions  in  the  trunk  and  hardens  into  a  yellow 
resin.  It  is  said  the  hogs  in  Jamaica  when  wounded  rub  the  injured  part 
against  the  tree  so  as  to  cover  it  with  the  gum,  which  possesses  vulnerary 
properties;  hence  its  name.  The  resin  has  been  employed  as  a  substitute 
for  copaiba  balsam,  and  plasters  are  made  of  it. 

293.  MUCUNA  PRURIENS.— A  tall  climbing  plant  of  the  West  Indies  and  other  warm 

climates.  It  is  called  the  cowage,  or  cow-itch,  on  account  of  the  seed  pods 
being  covered  with  short  brittle  hairs,  the  points  of  which  are  finely  ser- 
rated, causing  an  unbearable  itching  when  applied  to  the  skin,  which  is 
relieved  by  rubbing  the  part  with  oil.  It  is  employed  as  a  vermifuge.  In 
East  Africa  it  is  called  Kitedzi.  Tin  •  sea  1  >«  -ans  found  on  the  coast  of  Florida 
are  the  seeds  of  Mucuna  altissima.  Jn  Cuba  these  are  called  bulls'  eyes, 


30 

294.  MURRAYA  EXOTICA. — A  Chinese  plant  of  the  orange  family.     The  fruit  is  suc- 

culent, and  the  white  flowers  are  very  fragrant.  They  are  used  in  per- 
fumery. 

295.  MUSA  CAVENDISHII. — This  is  a  valuable  dwarf  species  of  the  banana  from 

southern  China.  It  bears  a  large  truss  of  fine  fruit,  and  is  cultivated  to 
some  extent  in  Florida,  where  it  endures  more  cold  than  the  West  India 
species  and  fruits  more  abundantly. 

296.  MUSA  ENSETE. — This  Abyssinian  species  forms  large  foliage  of  striking  beauty. 

The  food  is  dry  and  uneatable  ;  but  the  base  of  the  flower  stalk  is  eaten  by 
the  natives. 

297.  MUSA  SAPIENTUM. — The  banana  plant.     This  has  been  cultivated  and  used  as 

food  in  tropical  countries  from  very  remote  times,  and  furnishes  enormous 
quantities  of  nutritious  food,  and  serves  as  a  staple  support  to  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  human  race.  The  expressed  juice  is  in  some  countries  made  into 
a  fermented  liquor  and  the  young  shoots  eaten  as  a  vegetable. 

298.  MUSA  TEXTILIS. — This  furnishes  the  fiber  known  as  manilla  hemp,  and  is  cul- 

tivated in  the  Philippine  Islands  for  this  product.  The  finer  kinds  of  the 
fiber  are  woven  into  beautiful  shawls  and  the  coarser  manufactured  into 
cordage  for  ships.  The  fiber  is  obtained  from  the  leaf -stalks. 

299.  MussvENDA  FRONDOSA. — This  cinchonaceous  plant  is  a  native  of  Ceylon.     The 

bark  and  leaves  are  esteemed  as  tonic  and  ferbrifuges  in  the  Mauritius, 
where  they  are  known  as  wild  cinchona.  The  leaves  and  flowers  are  also 
used  as  expectorants,  and  the  juice  of  the  fruit  and  leaves  is  used  as  an  eye- 
wash. 

300.  MYRISTICA  MOSCHATA. — The  nutmeg  tree.     The  seed  of  this  plant  is  the  nut- 

meg of  commerce,  and  mace  is  the  seed  cover  of  the  same.  When  the  nuts 
are  gathered  they  are  dried  and  the  outer  shell  of  the  seed  removed.  The 
mace  is  also  dried5  iii  the  sun  and  assumes  a  golden  yellow  color.  The  most 
esteemed  nutmegs  come  from  Penang.  At  one  time  the  nutmeg  culture 
was  monopolized  by  the  Dutch,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  burning  them 
when  the  crop  was  too  abundant,  in  order  to  keep  up  high  prices. 

301.  MYROSPERMUM  PERUIFERUM. — This  plant  yields  the  drug  known  as  balsam  of 

Peru,  which  is  procured  by  making  incisions  in  the  bark,  into  which  cotton 
rags  are  thrust;  a  fire  is  then  made  round  the  tree  to  liquefy  the  balsam. 
The  balsam  is  collected  by  boiling  the  saturated  rags  in  water.  It  is  a  thick, 
treacly  looking  liquid,  with  fragrant  aromatic  smell  and  taste,  and  is  not 
used  so  much  in. medicine  as  it  formerly  was. 

302.  MYROSPE&UM  TOLUIFERUM. — A  South  American  tree,  also  called  Myroxylon, 

which  yields  the  resinous  drug  called  balsam  of  Tolu.  This  substance  is 
fragrant,  having  a  warm,  sweetish  taste,  and  burns  with  an  agreeable  odor. 
It  is  used  in  perfumery  and  in  the  manufacture  of  pastiles,  also  for  flavor- 
ing confectionery,  as  in  Tolu  lozenges. 

303.  MYRTUS  COMMUNIS— The  common  myrtle.    This  plant  is  supposed  to  be  a  na- 

tive of  western  Asia,  but  now  grows  abundantly  in  Italy,  Spain,  and  the 
south  of  France.  Among  the  ancients  the  myrtle  was  held  sacred  to  Venus 
and  was  a  plant  of  considerable  importance,  wreaths  of  it  being  worn  by 
the  victors  of  the  Olympic  games  and  other  honored  personages.  Various 
parts  of  the  plant  were  used  in  medicine,  in  cookery,  and  by  the  Tuscans 
in  the  preparation  of  myrtle  wine,  called  myrtidanum.  It  is  still  used  in 
perfumery,  and  a  highly  perfumed  distillation  is  made  from  the  flowers. 
The  fruits  are  very  aromatic  and  sweet,  and  are  eaten  fresh  or  dried  and 
used  as  a  condiment. 

304.  NANDINA  DOMESTIC  A.— A  shrub  belonging  to  the  family  of  berberries.     It  is  a 

native  of  China  and  Japan,  where  it  is  extensively  cultivated  for  its, fruits. 
It  is  there  known  as  Nandin. 

305.  NAUCLEA  GAMBIR.— -A  native  of  the  Malayan  Islands,  which  yields  the  Gambir, 

or  Terra  Japonica  of  commerce.  This  is  prepared  by  boiling  the  leaves  in 
water  until  the  decoction  thickens,  when  it  is  poured  into  molds,  where  it 
remains  until  it  acquires  the  consistency  of  clay;  it  is  then  cut  into  cubes 
and  thoroughly  dried.  It  is  used  as  a  masticatory  in  combination  with  the 
areca  nut  and  betel  leaf,  and  also  for  tanning  purposes. 

306.  NECTANDRA  LEUCANTHA.— The  greenheart,  or  bibiru  tree  of  British  Guiana* 

furnishing  bibiru  bark,  which  is  used  medicinally  as  a  tonic  and  febrifuge, 
its  properties  being  due  to  the  presence  of  an  uncrystallizable  alkaloid, 
also  found  in  the  seeds.  The  seeds  are  also  remarkable  for  containing 


31 

upwards  of  50  per  cent  of  starch,  which  is  made  into  a  kind  of  bread  by 
the  natives.  The  timber  of  this  tree  is  extensively  employed  in  shipbuild- 
ing, its  great  strength  and  durability  rendering  it  peculiarly  well  suited  for 
this  purpose. 

307.  NEPENTHES  DISTILLATORIA. — This  pitcher  plant  is  a  native  of  Ceylon.     The 

pitchers  are  partly  filled  with  water  before  they  open;  hence  it  was  sup- 
posed to  be  produced  by  some  distilling  process.  In  Ceylon  the  old,  tough, 
flexible  stems  are  used  as  willows. 

308.  NEPHELIUM  LITCHI. — This  sapindaceous  tree  produces  one  of  the  valued  indig- 

enous fruits  of  China.  There  are  several  varieties;  the  fruit  is  round, 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  with  a  reddish-colored,  thin,  brittle 
shell.  When  fresh  they  are  filled  with  a  sweet,  white,  transparent,  jelly- 
like  pulp.  The  Chinese  are  very  fond  of  these  fruits  and  consume  large 
quantities  of  them,  both  in  the  fresh  state  and  when  dried  and  preserved. 

309.  NERIUM  OLEANDER. — This  is  a  well-known  plant,  often  seen  .Jn  cultivation,  and 

seemingly  a  favorite  with  many.  It  belongs  to  a  poisonous  family  and  is  a 
dangerous  poison.  A  decoction  of  its  leaves  forms  a  wash,  employed  in  the 
south  of  Europe  to  destroy  vermin;  and  its  powdered  wood  and  bark  con- 
stitute the  basis  of  an  efficacious  rat-poison.  Children  have  died  from  eating 
the  flowers.  A  party  of  soldiers  in  Spain,  having  meat  to  roast  in  camp, 
procured  spits  and  skewers  of  the  tree,  which  there  attains  a  large  size.  The 
wood  having  been  stripped  of  its  bark,  and  brought  in  contact  with  the  meat, 
was  productive  of  fatal  consequences,  for  seven  men  died  out  of  the  twelve 
who  partook  of  the  meat  and  the  other  five  were  for  some  time  danger- 
ously ill. 

310.  NOTELJEA  LIGUSTRINA. — The  Tasmanian  iron  wood  tree.  It  is  of  medium  growth 

and  furnishes  wood  that  is  extremely  hard  and  dense,  and  used  for  mak- 
ing sheaves  for  ships'  blocks,  and  for  other  articles  that  require  to  be  of 
great  strength.  The  plant  belongs  to  the  olive  family. 

311.  OCHROMA  LAGOPUS. — A  tree  that  grows  about  40  feet  high,  along  the  seashores 

in  the  West  Indies  and  Central  America,  and  known  as  the  cork  wood. 
The  wood  is  soft,  spongy,  and  exceedingly  light,  and  is  used  as  a  substitute 
for  cork,  both  in  stopping  bottles  and  as  floats  for  fishing  nets.  It  is  also 
known  as  Balsa. 

u!2.  (ENOCARPUS  BATAVA. — A  South  American  palm,  which  yields  a  colorless, 
sweet-tasted  oil,  used  in  Para  for  adulterating  olive  oil,  being  nearly  as 
good  for  this  purpose  as  peanut  oil,  so  largely  used  in  Europe.  A  pain  table 
but  slightly  aperient  beverage  is  prepared  by  triturating  the  fruits  in  water, 
and  adding  sugar  and  mandiocca  flour. 

313.  OLEA  EUROP^EA. — The  European  olive,  which  is  popularly  supposed  to  furnish 

all  the  olive  oil  of  commerce.  It  is  a  plant  of  slow  growth  and  of  as  slow 
decay.  It  is  considered  probable  that  trees  at  present  existing  in  the  Vale 
of  Gethsemane  are  those  which  existed  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Christian  era.  The  oil  is  derived  from  the  flesh  of  the  fruit,  and  is  pressed 
out  of  the  bruised  pulp;  inferior  kinds  are  from  second  and  third  pressings. 
The  best  salad  oil  is  from  Leghorn,  and  is  sent  in  flasks  surrounded  by  rush- 
work.  Gallipoli  oil  is  transported  in  casks,  and  Lucca  in  jars.  The  pick- 
ling olives  are  the  unripe  fruits  deprived  of  a  portion  of  their  bitterness  by 
soaking  in  water  in  which  lime  and  wood  ashes  are  sometimes  added,  and 
then  bottled  in  salt  and  water  with  aromatics. 

314.  OPHIOCARYON  PARADOXUM. — The  snake  nut  tree  of  Guiana,  so   called  on 

account  of  the  curious  form  of  the  embryo  of  the  seed,  which  is  spirally 
twisted,  so  as  to  closely  resemble  a  coiled-up  blacksnake.  The  fruits  are 
as  large  as  those  of  the  black  walnut,  and  although  they  are  not  known  to 
possess  any  medical  properties,  their  singular  snake-like  form  has  induced 
the  Indians  to  employ  them  as  an  antidote  to  the  poison  of  venomous 
snakes.  The  plant  belongs  to  the  order  of  Sapindacece. 

315.  OPHIORHIZA  MUNGOS.— A  plant  belonging  to  the  cinchona  family,  the  roots  of 

which  are  reputed  to  cure  snake  bites.  They  are  intensely  bitter,  and  from 
this  circumstance  they  are  called  earth-galls  by  the  Malays. 

316.  OPHIOXYLON  SERPENTIXUM. — A  native  of  the  East  Indies,  where  the  roots  are 

used  in  medicine  as  a  febrifuge  and  alexipharmic. 

317.  OPUNTIA  COCHINELLIFERA. — A  native  of  Mexico,  where  it  is  largely  cultivated 

in.  what  are  called  the  Nopal  plantations  for  the  breeding  of  the  cochineal 
insect.  This  plant  and  others  are  aLo  grown  for  a  similar  purpose  in  the 


32 

Canary  Islands  and  Madeira.  Some  of  these  plantations  contain  fifty  thou- 
sand plants.  Cochineal  forms  the  finest  carmine  scarlet  dye,  and  at  least 
there  are  2,000  tons  of  it  produced  yearly,  in  value  worth  $2,000  per  ton. 

318.  OPUNTIA  TUNA. — This  plant  is  a  native  of  Mexico  and  South  America  gener- 

ally. It  reaches  a  height  of  15  to  20  feet  and  bears  reddish-colored  flowers, 
followed  by  pear-shaped  fleshy  fruits  2  or  3  inches  long,  and  of  a  rich  car- 
mine color  when  ripe.  It  is  cultivated  for  rearing  the  cochineal  insect. 
The  fruits  are  sweet  and  juicy;  sugar  has  been  made  from  them.  The  juice 
is  used  as  a  water-color  and  for  coloring  confectionery. 

319.  OREODAPHNE  CALIFORNICA.— The  mountain  laurel,  or  spice  bush,  of  Califor- 

nia. When  bruised  it  emits  a  strong,  spicy  odor,  and  the  Spanish  Ameri- 
cans use  the  leaves  as  a  condiment. 

320.  OREODOXAOLERACEA.— The  West  Indian  cabbage  palm,  which  sometimes  at- 

tains the  height  of  170  feet,  with  a  straight  cylindrical  trunk.  The  semicyl- 
indrical  portions  of  the  leaf -stalk  are  formed  into  cradles  for  children,  or 
made  into  splints  for  fractures.  Their  inside  skin,  peeled  off  while  green, 
and  dried,  looks  like  vellum,  and  can  be  written  upon.  The  heart  of  young 
leaves,  or  cabbage,  is  boiled  as  a  vegetable  or  pickled,  and  the  pith  affords 
sago.  Oil  is  obtained  from  the  fruit. 

321.  ORMOSIA  DASYCARPA.— This  is  the  West  Indian  bead  tree,  or  necklace  tree, 

the  seeds  of  which  are  roundish,  beautifully  polished,  and  of  a  bright  scarlet 
color,  with  a  black  spot  at  one  end  resembling  beads,  for  which  they  are  sub- 
stitutes, being  made  into  necklaces,  bracelets,  or  mounted  in  silver  for  studs 
and  buttons.  It  is  a  leguminose  plant. 

322.  OSMANTHUS  FRAGRANS. — This  plant  has  long  heen  cultivated  as  Olea  Fragrans. 

The  flowers  have  a  fine  fragrance,  and  are  used  by  the  Chinese  to  perfume 
tea.  It  appears  that  they  consider  the  leaves  also  valuable,  for  they  are 
frequently  found  in  what  is  expected  to  be  genuine  tea. 

323.  PACHIRA  ALBA. — A  South  American  tree  the  inner  bark  of  which  furnishes  a 

strong  useful  fiber,  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  ropes  and  various  kinds 
of  cordage.  The  petals  of  the  flowers  are  covered  with  a  soft  silky  down 
which  is  used  for  stuffing  cushions  and  pillows. 

324.  PANDANUS  UTILIS. — The  screw  pine  of  the  Mauritius,  where  it  is  largely  cul- 

tivated for  its  leaves,  which  are  manufactured  into  bags  or  sacks  for  the 
exportation  of  sugar.  They  are  also  used  for  making  other  domestic  vessels 
and  for  tying  purposes. 

325.  PAPPEA  CAPENSIS. — A  small  tree  of  the  soapberry  or  sapindaceous  family, 

a  native  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where  the  fruit  is  known  as  the  wild 
plum,  from  the  pulp  of  which  a  vinous  beverage  and  excellent  vinegar  are 
prepared,  and  an  eatable,  though  slightly  purgative,  oil  is  extracted  from 
the  seeds.  The  oil  is  also  strongly  recommended  for  baldness  and  scalp 
affections. 

826.  PAPYRUS  ANTIQUORUM.— The  paper-reed  of  Asia,  which  yielded  the  substances 
used  as  paper  by  the  ancient  Egyptians.  The  underground  root-stocks 
spread  horizontally  under  the  muddy  soil,  continuing  to  throw  up  stems  as 
they  creep  along.  The  paper  was  made  from  thin  slices,  cut  vertically  from 
the  apex  to  the  base  of  the  stem,  between  its  surface  and  center.  The  slices 
were  placed  side  by  side,  according  to  the  size  required,  and  then,  after 
being  wetted  and  beaten  with  a  wooden  instrument  until  smooth,  were 
pressed  and  dried  in  the  sun. 

327.  PARITIUM  ELATUM. — The  mountain  mahoe,  a  malvaceous  plant,  that  furnishes 
the  beautiful  lace-like  bark  called  Cuba  bast,  imported  by  nurserymen  for 
tying  their  plants.  It  was  at  one  time  only  seen  as  employed  in  tying 
together  bundles  of  genuine  Havana  cigars.  It  forms  a  tree  40  feet  or  more 
in  height,  and  yields  a  greenish-blue  timber,  highly  prized  by  cabinet- 
makers. 

828,  PARKIA  .AFRICANA.—  The  African  locust  tree,  producing  seeds  which  the  natives 
of  Soudan  roast,  and  then  bruise  and  allow  to  ferment  in  water  until  they 
become  putrid,  when  they  are  carefully  washed,  pounded  into  powder,  and 
made  into  cakes,  which  are  said  to  be  excellent,  though  having  a  very 
unpleasant  smell.  The  pulp  surrounding  the  seeds  is  made  into  a  sweet 
farinaceous  preparation, 


33 

329.  PARKINSONIA  ACULEATA. — This  leguminous  plant  is  called  Jerusalem  Thorn. 

Although  a  native  of  Southern  Texas  and  Mexico,  it  is  found  in  many  trop- 
ical countries,  and  is  frequently  used  for  making  hedges.  Indians  in  Mex- 
ico employ  it  as  a  febrifuge  and  sudorific  and  also  as  a  remedy  for  epilepsy. 

330.  PARMENTIERA  CEREIFERA. — In  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  this  plant  is  termed 

the  Candle  tree,  because  its  fruits,  often  4  feet  long,  look  like  yellow  can- 
dles suspended  from  the  branches.  They  have  a  peculiar,  apple-like  smell, 
and  cattle  that  partake  of  the  leaves  or  fruit  have  the  smell  communicated 
to  the  beef  if  killed  immediately. 

331.  PASSIFLORA  QUADRANGULARIS.— The  fruit  of  this  plant  is  the  Granadilla  of  the 

tropics.  The  pulp  has  an  agreeable  though  rather  mawkish  taste.  The 
root  is  said  to  possess  narcotic  properties,  and  is  used  in  the  Mauritius  as  an 
emetic. 

332.  PAULLTNIA  SORBILIS. — The  seeds  of  this  climbing  sapindaceous  plant  furnish 

the  famous  guarana  of  the  Amazon  and  its  principal  tributaries.  The  ripe 
seeds,  when  thoroughly  dried,  are  pounded  into  a  fine  powder,  which  made 
into  dough  with  water,  is  formed  into  cylindrical  rolls,  from  5  to  8  inches 
long,  becoming  very  hard  when  dry.  ft  is  used  as  a  beverage,  which  is 
prepared  by  grating  about  half  ateaspoonful  of  one  of  the  cakes  into  about 
a  teacup  of  water.  It  is  much  used  by  Brazilian  miners,  and  is  considered 
a  preventive  of  all  manner  of  diseases.  It  is  also  used  by  travelers,  who 
supply  themselves  with  it  previous  to  undertaking  lengthy  or  fatiguing 
journeys.  Its  active  principle  is  identical  with  theine,  of  which  it  contains 
a  larger  quantity  than  exists  in  any  other  known  plant,  being  more  than 
double  that  contained  in  the  best  black  tea. 

333.  PAVETTA  BORBONICA. — This  belongs  to  the  quinine  family.     The  roots  are  bit- 

ter, and  are  employed  as  a  purgative  ;  the  leaves  are  also  used  medicinally. 

334.  PEDILANTHUS  TTTHYMALOIDES. — This  euphorbiaceous  plant  has  an  acrid,  milky, 

bitter  juice ;  the  root  is  emetic,  and  the  dried  branches  are  used  medici- 
nally. 

335.  PERESKIA  ACULEATA. — The  Barbadoes  gooseberry,  which  belongs  to  the  family 

Cactacece.  It  grows  about  15  feet  in  height,  and  produces  yellow-colored, 
eatable,  and  pleasant- tasted  fruit,  which  is  used  in  the  West  Indies  for 
making  preserves. 

336.  PERSE  A  GRATTSSIMA. — The  avocado  or  alligator  pear,  a  common  tree  in  the 

West  Indies.  The  fruits  are  pear-shaped,  covered  with  a  brownish-green 
or  purple  skin.  They  are  highly  esteemed  where  grown,  but  strangers 
d<>  not  relish  them.  They  contain  a  large  quantity  of  firm  pulp,  possessing 
a  buttery  or  marrow-like  taste,  and  are  frequently  called  vegetable  marrow. 
They  are  usually  eaten  with  spice,  lime-juice,  pepper,  and  salt.  An  abun- 
dance of  oil,  for  burning  and  for  soap-making,  may  be  obtained  from  the 
pulp.  The  seeds  yield  a  deep,  indelible  black  juice,  which  is  used  for  mark- 
ing linen. 

337.  PHCENIX  DACTYLIFERA. — The  date  palm,  very  extensively  grown  for  its  fruit, 

which  affords  the  principal  food  for  a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Africa,  Asia,  and  southern  Europe,  and  likewise  of  the  various  domestic 
animals— dogs,  horses,  and  camels  being  alike  partial  to  it.  The  tree 
attains  to  a  great  age,  and  bears  annually  for  two  hundred  years.  The 
huts  of  the  poorer  classes  are  constructed  of  the  leaves:  the  fiber  surround- 
in.-  the  bases  of  their  stalks  is  used  for  making  ropes  and  coarse  cloth:  the 
stalks  are  used  for  the  manufacture  of  baskets,  brooms,  crates,  walking 
sticks,  etc.,  and  the  wood  for  building  substantial  houses;  the  heart  of 
young  leaves  is  eaten  as  a  vegetable;  the  sap  affords  an  intoxicating  bev- 
erage. It  may  be  further  mentioned  that  the  date  was,  probably,  the  palm 
which  supplied  the  "branches  of  palm  trees"  mentioned  by  St.  John 
(xii,  13)  as  having  been  carried  by  the  people  who  went  to  meet  Christ  on 
his  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem,  and  from  which  Palm  Sunday  takes 
its  name. 

338.  PHORMIL-M  TENAX.— This  plant  is  called  New  Zealand  flax,  on  account  of  the 

leaves  containing  a  large  quantity  of  strong,  useful  fiber,  which  is  used  by 
the  natives  of  that  country  for  making  strings,  ropes,  and  articles  of  cloth- 
ing. The  plant  could  be  grown  in  this  climate,  and  would  no  doubt  be 
largely  cultivated  if  some  efficient  mode  of  separating  the  fiber  could  be 
discovered. 
28582 3 


34 

339.  PHOTINIA  JAPONICA. — The  Japanese  Medlar,  or  Chinese  Lo-quat.     It  bears  a 

small  oval  fruit  of  an  orange  color  when  ripe,  having  a  pleasant  subacid 
flavor.  It  stands  ordinary  winters  in  this  climate,  and  forms  a  fine  ever- 
green, medium-sized  tree. 

340.  PHYSOSTIGMA  VENENOSUM. — A  strong  leguminous  plant,  the  seeds  of  which 

are  highly  poisonous,  and  are  employed  by  the  natives  of  Old  Calabar  as 
an  ordeal.  Persons  suspected  of  witchcraft  or  other  crimes  are  compelled 
to  eat  them  until  they  vomit  or  die,  the  former  being  regarded  as  proof  of 
innocence,  and  the  latter  of  guilt.  Recently  the  seeds  have  been  found 
to  act  powerfully  in  diseases  of  the  eye. 

341.  PHYTELEPHAS  MACROCARPA.  —The  vegetable  ivory  plant,  a  native  of  the  north- 

ern parts  of  South  America.  The  fruit  consists  of  a  collection  of  six  or 
seven  drupes;  each  contains  from  six  to  nine  seeds,  the  vegetable  ivory  of 
commerce.  The  seeds  at  first  contain  a  clear,  insipid  liquid;  afterwards 
it  becomes  milky  and  sweet,  and  changes  by  degrees  until  it  becomes  hard 
as  ivory.  Animals  eat  the  fruit  in  its  young  green  state;  a  sweet  oily  pulp 
incloses  the  seeds,  and  is  collected  and  sold  in  the  markets  under  the  name 
of  Pipa  de  Jagua.  Vegetable  ivory  may  be  distinguished  from  animal 
ivory  by  means  of  sulphuric  acid,  which  gives  a  bright  red  color  with  the 
vegetable  ivory,  but  none  with  the  animal  ivory. 

342.  PICRASHA  EXCELSA. — This  yields  the  bitter  wood  known  as  Jamaica  Quassia. 

The  tree  is  common  in  Jamaica,  where  it  attains  the  height  of  50  feet.  The 
wood  is  of  a  whitish  or  yellow  color,  and  has  an  intensely  bitter  taste. 
Although  it  is  used  as  a  medicine  in  cases  of  weak  digestion,  it  acts  as  a 
narcotic  poison  on  some  animals,  and  the  tincture  is  used  as  fly  poison. 
Cups  made  of  this  wood,  when  filled  with  water  and  allowed  to  remain  for 
some  time,  will  impart  tonic  properties  to  the  water. 

343.  PINCKNEYA  PUBENS. — This  cinchonaceous  plant  is  a  native  of  the  Southern 

States  and  has  a  reputation  as  an  antiperiodic.  It  is  stated  that  incom- 
plete examinations  have  detected  cinchonine  in  the  bark.  It  has  been  used 
successfully  as  a  substitute  for  quinine.  A  thorough  examination  of  this 
plant  seems  desirable  so  that  its  exact  medical  value  may  be  ascertained. 

344.  PIPER  BETEL. — This  plant  belongs  to  the  Piperacece.    Immense  quantities  of 

the  leaves  of  this  plant  are  chewed  by  the  Malays.  It  tinges  the  saliva  a 
bright  red  and  acts  as  a  powerful  stimulant  to  the  digestive  organs  and  sal- 
ivary glands;  when  swallowed  it  causes  giddiness  and  other  unpleasant 
symptoms  in  persons  unaccustomed  to  its  use. 

345.  PIPER  NIGRUM. — This  twining  shrub  yields  the  pepper  of  commerce.     It  is  cul- 

tivated in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  Java,  etc.,  the  Malabar  being  held  in 
the  highest  esteem.  The  fruit  when  ripe  is  of  a  red  color,  but  it  is  gathered 
before  being  fully  ripe  and  dried  in  the  sun,  when  it  becomes  black  and 
shriveled.  White  pepper  is  the  same  fruit  with  the  skin  removed.  When 
analyzed,  pepper  is  found  to  contain  a  hot  acrid  resin  and  a  volatile  oil,  as 
well  as  a  crystalline  substance  called  piperin,  which  has  been  recom- 
mended as  a  substitute  for  quinine. 

346.  PISTACIA  LENTISCUS. — The  mastic  tree,  a  native  of  southern  Europe,  northern 

Africa,  and  western  Asia.  Mastic  is  the  resin  of  the  tree  and  is  obtained 
by  making  transverse  incisions  in  the  bark,  from  which  it  exudes  in  drops 
and  hardens  into  small  semitransparent  tears.  It  is  consumed  in  large 
quantities  by  the  Turks  for  chewing  to  strengthen  the  gums  and  sweeten 
the  breath.  It  is  also  used  for  varnishing. 

347.  PISTACIA  TEREBINTHUS. — The  Cyprus  turpentine  tree.     The  turpentine  flows 

from  incisions  made  in  the  trunk  and  soon  becomes  thick  and  tenacious, 
and  ultimately  hardens.  Galls  gathered  from  this  tree  are  used  for  tanning 
purposes,  one  of 'the  varieties  of  morocco  leather  being  tanned  with  them. 

348.  PISTACIA  VERA. — The  pistacia  tree,  which  yields  the  eatable  pistachio  nuts.    It 

is  a  native  of  western  Asia.  The  nuts  are  greatly  eaten  by  the  Turks  and 
Greeks,  as  well  as  in  the  south  of  Europe,  either  simply  dried  like  almonds 
or  made  into  articles  of  confectionery. 

319.  PITHECOLOBIUM  SAMAN. — This  leguminous  plant  yields  eatable  pods,  which  are 
fed  to  cattle  in  Brazil.  Some  Mexican  species  produce  pods  that  are  boiled 
and  eaten,  and  certain  portions  contain  saponaceous  properties.  The  pods 
are  sometimes  called  Manilla  tamarinds.  The  leaves  of  this  tree  fold  closely 
up  at  night,  so  that  they  do  not  prevent  the  radiation  of  heat  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  and  dew  is  therefore  deposited  underneath  its  branches. 
The  grass  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  underneath  this  tree  being  thus  wet 


35 

with  dew.  while  tli.it  under  other  trees  is  found  to  be  dry,  has  given  it  the 
name  of  rain  tree,  under  the  supposition  that  the  leaves  dropped  water 
during  the  night. 

350.  PITTOSPORUM  UNDULATUM. — A  plant  from  New  Zealand,  which  reaches  a  con- 
siderable size,  and  furnishes  a  wood  similar  to  boxwood.  The  flowers  are 
very  fragrant. 

331.  PLAGIANTHUS  BETULINUS. — The  inner  bark  of  the  young  branches  of  this  plant 
yields  a  very  fine  fiber,  sometimes  called  New  Zealand  cotton,  though  more 
like  flax  than  cotton ;  it  is  the  Akaroa  of  the  New  Zealanders.  In  Tasma- 
nia it  bears  the  name  of  Currajong.  Good  cordage  and  twine  for  fishing 
nets  are  made  from  this  fiber.  A  superior  paper  pulp  is  prepared  from  the 
wood;  it  is  also  employed  in  making  handles  to  baskets,  rims  for  sieves,  and 
hoops  for  barrels. 

352.  PLATONIA  INSIGNIS. — A  Brazilian  tree  which  bears  a  fruit  known  in  that 

country  as  Pacoury-uva.  The  pulp  of  this  fruit  is  semiacid,  very  delicious, 
and  is  employed  in  making  preserves.  The  seeds  embedded  in  this  pulp 
have  the  flavor  of  almonds. 

353.  PLUMBAGO  SCANDENS. — The  root  of  this  plant  is  called  Herbe  du  Diable  in  San 

Domingo;  it  is  acrid  in  the  highest  degree,  and  is  a  most  energetic  blister- 
ing agent  when  fresh. 

354.  PLUMIERIA  ALBA. — A  South  American  plant.    The  flowers  are  used  in  per- 

fumery, and  furnish  the  scent  known  as  Frangipane  or  Frangipani.  In 
Jamaica  the  plant  is  known  as  red  jasmine. 

355.  POGOSTEMON  PATCHOULY. — This  plant  affords  the  celebrated  patchouli  per- 

fume. The  peculiar  odor  of  patchouli  is  disagreeable  to  some,  but  is  very 
popular  with  many  persons.  The  odoriferous  part  of  the  plant,  is  the 
leaves  and  young  tops,  which  yield  a  volatile  oil  by  distillation,  from  which 
an  essence  is  prepared;  satchets  of  patchouli  are  made  of  coarsely  powdered 
leaves.  Genuine  Indian  shawls  and  Indian  ink  were  formerly  distin- 
guished by  their  odor  of  this  perfume,  but  the  test  does  not  now  hold  good. 
Ill  effects," such  as  loss  of  sleep,  nervous  attacks,  etc.,  have  been  ascribed 
to  its  extensive  use. 

356.  PONGAMIA  GLABRA.— Some  years  ago  this  tree  was  recommended  as  suitable 

for  avenue-planting  in  the  south  of  France.  In  India  an  oil  called  poonga 
is  exp  essed  from  the  seeds,  which  is  much  used  for  mixing  with  lamp  oil. 
It  is  of  a  deep  yellow  color,  and  is  fluid  at  temperatures  above  60  F. ,  but 
below  that  it  becomes  solid. 

357.  PORTLANDIA  GRANDIFLORA — This  plant  belongs  to  the  cinchonaceous  family, 

and  is  said  to  possess  properties  similar  to  those  of  the  true  cinchona.  The 
bark  is  exceedingly  bitter. 

$58.  PSIDIUM  CATTLEYANUM. — This  is  the  purple  guava  from  China.  The  fruits  are 
filled  with  juicy,  pale  flesh,  of  a  very  agreeable  acid-sweet  flavor. 

359.  PSIDIUM  PYRIFERUM. — The  West  Indian  guava,  a  well-known  fruit  in  the 
tropics,  but  only  known  here  in  the  shape  of  guava  jelly.  The  wood  of 
the  tree  has  a  fine,  close  grain,  and  has  bean  experimented  with  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  boxwood  for  engraving  purposes,  but  it  is  too  soft  to  stand  the 
pressure  of  printing. 

860.  PSYCHOTRIA  LEUCANTHA. — A  plant  belonging  to  the  cinchona  family.  Emetic 
properties  are  assigned  to  the  roots,  which  are  also  used  in  dyeing.  Native 
of  Peru. 

361.  PTEROCARPUS  MARSUPIUM. — This  tree  affords  gum-kino,  which  is  obtained  by 
making  incisions  in  the  bark,  from  which  the  juice  exudes  and  hardens 
into  a  brittle  mass,  easily  broken  into  small  angular,  shining  fragments  of 
a  bright  ruby  color.  It  is  highly  astringent.  The  wood  is  hard  and  valua- 
ble for  manufacturing  purposes. 

862.  PUNICA  GRANATUM. — The  pomegranate,  a  native  of  northern  Africa  and  west- 
ern Asia.  The  fruit  is  valued  in  warm  countries  on  account  of  its  deli- 
cious cooling  and  refreshing  pulp.  Numerous  varieties  are  grown,  some 
being  sweet  and  vinous,  and  others  acid  or  of  a  bitter,  stringent  taste;  the 
color  also  varies  from  light  to  dark  red.  The  bark  of  the  root  abounds 
in  a  peculiar  principle  called  puniein.  This  bark  appears  to  have  been 
known  to  the  ancients,  and  used  by  them  as  a  vermifuge,  and  is  still  used 
in  Hindostan  as  a  specific  against  tapeworm.  The  rind  of  the  fruit  of  the 
bitter  varieties  contains  a  large  amount  of  tannin,  and  is  used  for  tanning 
morocco  leather.  The  flowers  yield  a  red  dye. 


36 

363.  QUASSIA  AMARA. — The  wood  of  this  plant  furnishes  Surinam  quassia.     It  is 

destitute  of  smell,  but  has  an  intensely  bitter  taste,  and  is  used  as  a  tonic. 
The  root  has  also  reputed  medicinal  value,  as  also  have  the  flowers. 

364.  QUILLAJA  SAPONARIA. — The  Quillai  or  Cully  of  the  Chilians.     Its  bark  is  called 

soap-bark,  and  is  rough  and  dark -colored  externally,  but  internally  consists 
of  numerous  regular  whitish  or  yellowish  layers,  and  contains  a  large 
quantity  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  other  mineral  matters.  It  is  also  rich  in 
saponine,  and  is  used  for  washing  clothes;  2  ounces  of  the  bark  is  sufficient 
to  wash  a  dress.  It  also  removes  all  spots  or  stains,  and  imparts  a  fine 
luster  to  wool;  when  powdered  and  rubbed  between  the  hands  in  water,  it 
makes  a  foam  like  soap.  It  is  to  be  found  in  commerce. 

365.  BANDIA  ACULEATA. — A  small  tree  native  of  the  West  Indies,  also  found  in 

southern  Florida.  In  the  West  Indies  the  fruit  is  used  for  producing  a  blue 
dye,  and  medicinal  properties  are  assigned  to  the  bark. 

366.  RAPHIA  TOEDIGERA. — The  Jupati  palm.     The  leaf -stalks  of  this  plant  are  used 

by  the  natives  of  the  Amazon  for  a  variety  of  purposes,  such  as  construct- 
ing inside  walls,  making  boxes  and  baskets,  etc.  R.  vinifera,  the  Bamboo 
palm,  is  similarly  used  by  the  Africans,  who  also  make  a  very  pliable  cloth 
of  the  undeveloped  leaves.  Palm  wine  is  one  of  the  products  of  the  genus. 

367.  EAVENALA  MADAGASCARIENSIS. — This  plant  is  called  the  Travele  's  tree,  prob- 

ably on  account  of  the  water  which  is  stored  up  in  the  large  cup-like  sheaths 
of  the  leaf -stalks,  and  which  is  sought  for  by  travelers  to  allay  their  thirst. 
The  broad  leaves  are  used  in  Madagascar  as  thatch  to  cover  their  houses. 
The  seeds  are  edible,  and  the  blue,  pulpy  aril  surrounding  them  yields  an 
essential  oil. 

368.  RHAPIS  FLABELLIFORMIS.— The  ground   rattan  palm.      This  is  supposed  to 

yield  the  walking-canes  known  as  rattan,  which  is  doubted.  It  is  a  native 
of  southern  China,  and  is  also  found  in  Japan,  where  it  is  known  by  the 
name  of  Kwanwortsik. 

369.  RHIZOPHORA  MANGLE. — This  plant  is  known  as  the  mangrove,  possibly  because 

no  man  can  live  in  the  swampy  groves  that  are  covered  with  it  in  trop- 
ical countries.  The  seeds  germinate,  or  form  roots  before  they  quit  the 
parent  tree,  and  drop  into  the  mud  as  young  trees.  The  old  plants  send  out 
aerial  roots  into  the  water,  upon  which  the  mollusca  adhere,  and  as  the  tide 
recedes  they  are  seen  clinging  to  the  shoots,  verifying  the  statements  of 
old  travelers  that  they  had  seen  oysters  growing  on  trees.  All  parts  of  this 
tree  contain  tannin.  The  bark  yields  dyes,  and  in  the  West  Indies  the 
leaves  are  used  for  poulticing  wounds.  The  fruit  is  edible;  a  coarse,  brittle 
salt  is  extracted  from  the  roots,  and  in  the  Philippines  the  bark  is  used  as 
a  febrifuge. 

370.  ROTTLERA    TINCTORIA. — This  plant  belongs  to  the  order  Euphorbiacece,  and 

reaches  the  size  of  a  small  tree  in  the  Indian  Arohipelago  and  southern 
Australia.  From  the  surface  of  the  trilobed  capsules  of  this  plant,  which 
are  about  the  size  of  peas,  a  red,  mealy  powder  is  obtained,  well  known  in 
India  as  kamala,  and  which  is  used  by  Hindoo  silk-dyers,  who  obtain  from 
it  a  deep,  bright,  durable  orange  or  flame  color  of  great  beauty.  This  is 
obtained  by  boiling  the  powder  in  a  solution  of  carbonate  of  soda.  When 
the  capsules  are  ripe  the  red  powder  is  brushed  off  and  collected  for  sale, 
no  other  preparation  being  necessary  to  preserve  it.  It  is  also  used  medici- 
nally as  an  anthelmintic  and  has  been  successfully  used  in  cases  of  tape- 
worm. A  solution  removes  freckles  and  pistules  and  eruptions  on  the  skin. 

371.  RUELLIA  INDIGOTICA. — This  small  bush  is  extensively  cultivated  in  China  for 

the  preparation  of  a  blue  coloring-matter  of  the  nature  of  indigo.  The 
pigment  is  prepared  from  the  entire  plant  by  a  process  similar  to  that  em- 
ployed in  procuring  the  common  indigo.  It  is  sold  in  China  in  a  pasty 
state.  The  water  in  which  the  plant  is  steeped  is  mixed  with  lime  and 
rapidly  agitated,  when  the  coloring  deposits  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel. 

372.  SABAL  ADANSONI. — This  dwarf  palm  is  a  native  of  the  Southern  States.     The 

leaves  are  made  into  fans,  and  the  soft  interior  of  the  stem  is  edible. 

373.  SABAL  UMBRACULIFERA.— This  is  a  West  Indian  palm;  the  leaves  are  used  for 

various  purposes,  such  as  making  mats,  huts,  etc. 

374.  SACCHARUM  OFFICINARUM. — The  sugar  cane.    Where  the  sugar  cane  was  first 

cultivated  is  unknown,  but  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  the  East  Indies, 
for  the  Venetians  imported  it  from  thence  by  the  Red  Sea  prior  to  the  year 
1148.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  into  the  islands  of  Sicily,  Crete, 


37 

Rhodes,  and  Cyprus  by  the  Saracens,  as  abundance  of  sugar  was  made  in 
these  islands  previous*  to  the  discovery  of  the  West  Indies  in  1492  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  the  East  Indies  and  Brazil  by  the  Portuguese  in  1497  and  1560. 
It  was  cultivated  afterwards  in  Spain,  in  Valentia,  Granada,  and  Murcia 
bv  the  Moors.  In  the  fifteenth  century  it  was  introduced  into  the  Canary 
Islands  by  the  Spaniards  and  to  Madeira  by  the  Portuguese,  and  thence  to 
the  West  India  Islands  and  to  Brazil.  The  Dutch  began  to  make  sugar  in 
the  island  of  St.  Thomas  in  the  year  1610  and  in  Jamaica  in  1644.  Its  cul- 
ture has  since  become  general  in  warm  climates  and  its  use  universal. 

375.  SAGUERUS  SACCHARIFER. — The  arenga  palm,  which  is  of  great  value  to  the 

Malays.  The  black  horsehair  like  fiber  surrounding  its  leaf -stalks  is  made 
into  cordage;  a  large  amount  of  toddy  or  palm  wine  is  obtained  by  cutting 
off  the  flower  spikes,  which,  when  inspissated,  affords  sugar,  and  when  fer- 
mented a  capital  vinegar.  Considerable  quantities  of  inferior  sago  and  sev- 
eral other  products  of  minor  importance  are  derived  from  this  palm. 

376.  SAGUS  RUMPHII. — This  palm  produces  the  sago  of  commerce,  which  is  prepared 

from  the  soft  inner  portion  of  the  trunk.  It  is  obtained  by  cutting  the 
trunk  into  small  pieces,  which  are  split  and  the  soft  substance  scooped  out 
and  pounded  in  water  till  the  starchy  substance  separates  and  settles.  This 
is  sago  meal;  but  before  being  exported  it  is  made  into  what  is  termed 
pearl  sago.  This  is  a  Chinese  process,  principally  carried  on  at  Singapore. 
The  meal  is  washed,  strained,  and  spread  out  to  dry;  it  is  then  broken  up, 
pounded,  and  sifted  until  it  is  of  a  regular  size.  Small  quantities  being 
then  placed  in  bags,  these  are  shaken  about  until  it  becomes  granulated  or 
pearled. 

377.  SALVADORA  PERSICA. — This  is  supposed  to  be  the  plant  that  produced  the 

mustard  seed  spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures. 

378.  SANDORICUM  INDICUM. — A  tropical  tree,  sometimes  called  the  Indian  sandal 

tree,  which  produces  a  fruit  like  an  apple,  of  agreeable  acid  flavor.  The 
root  of  the  tree  has  some  medicinal  value. 

379.  SANSEVIERA  GUINEENSIS. — Called  the  African  bowstring  hemp,  from  the  fibers 

of  the  leaves  being  used  for  bowstrings. 

380.  SANTALUM  ALBUM. — Thi?  tree  yields  the  true  sandalwood  of  India.     This  fra- 

grant wood  is  in  two  colors,  procured  from  the  same  tree;  the  yellow-colored 
wood  is  from  the  heart  and  the  white-colored  from  the  exterior,  the  latter 
not  so  fragrant.  The  Chinese  manufacture  it  into  musical  instruments, 
small  cabinets,  boxes,  and  similar  articles,  which  are  insect  proof.  From 
shavings  of  the  wood  an  essential  oil  is  distilled,  which  is  used  in  per- 
fumery. 

381.  SAPINDUS  SAPONARIA. — The  soapberry  tree.     The  fruit  of  this  plant  is  about 

the  size  of  a  large  gooseberry,  the  outer  covering  or  shell  of  which  contains 
a  saponaceous  principle  in  sufficient  abundance  to  produce  a  lather  with 
water  and  is  used  as  a  substitute  for  soap.  The  seeds  are  hard,  black,  and 
round,  and  are  used  for  making  rosaries  and  necklaces,  and  at  one  time 
were  covered  for  buttons.  Oil  is  also  extracted  from  the  seeds  and  is  known 
as  soap  oil. 

382.  SAPIUM  INDICUM. — A  widely  distributed  Asiatic  tree  which  yields  an  acrid, 

milky  juice,  which,  as  also  the  leaves  of  the  plant,  furnishes  a  kind  of  dye. 
The  fruit  in  its  green  state  is  acid,  and  is  eaten  as  a  condiment  in  Borneo. 

383.  SAPOTA  ACHRAS. — The  fruit  of  this  plant  is  known  in  the  West  Indies  as  the 

sapodilla  plum.  It  is  highly  esteemed  by  the  inhabitants;  the  bark  of  the 
tree  is  astringent  and  febrifugal;  the  seeds  are  aperient  and  diuretic. 

384.  SAPOTA  MULLERL— The  bully  or  balata  tree  of  British  Guiana,  which  furnishes 

a  gum  somewhat  intermediate  between  India  rubber  and  gutta-percha, 
being  nearly  as  elastic  as  the  first  without  the  brittleness  and  f riability  of 
the  latter,  and  requiring  a  high  temperature  to  melt  or  soften  it. 

385.  SCHIXUS  MOLLE. — The  root  of  this  plant  is  used  medicinally  and  the  resin  that 

exudes  from  the  tree  is  employed  to  astringe  the  gums.  The  leaves  are  so 
filled  with  resinous  fluid  that  when  they  are  immersed  in  water  it  is  ex- 
p^lled  with  such  violence  as  to  have  the  appearance  of  spontaneous  motion 
in  consequence  of  the  recoil.  The  fruits  are  of  the  size  of  pepper  corns  and 
are  warm  to  the  taste.  The  pulp  surrounding  the  seeds  is  made  into  a  kind 
of  beverage  by  the  Mexican  Indians.  The  plant  is  sometimes  called  Mexi- 
can pepper. 


38 

386.  SCHOTIA  SPECIOSA— A  small  tree  of  South  Africa  called  Boerboom  at  the  Cape 

of  Good  Hope.  The  seeds  or  beans  are  cooked  and  eaten  as  food.  The 
bark  is  used  for  tanning  purposes  and  as  an  astringent  in  medicine. 

387.  SEAFORTHIA  ELEGANS. — This  palm  is  a  native  of  the  northern  part  of  Australia, 

where  it  is  utilized  by  the  natives.  The  seeds  have  a  granular  fibrous  rind, 
and  are  spotted  and  marked  like  a  nutmeg. 

388.  SELAGINELLA  LEPIDOPHYLLA. — This  spscies  of  club  moss  is  found  in  southern 

California,  and  has  remarkable  hygrometric  qualities.  Its  natural  growth 
is  in  circular  roseate  form,  and  fully  expanded  when  the  air  is  moist,  but 
rolling  up  like  a  ball  when  it  becomes  dry.  It  remains  green  and  acts  in 
this  peculiar  manner  for  a  long  time  after  being  gathered.  Of  late  years 
numbers  have  been  distributed  throughout  the  country  under  the  names  of 
"  Rose  of  Jericho"  and  "  Resurrection  Plant."  This  is,  however,  quite  dis- 
tinct from  the  true  Rose  of  Jericho,  Anastatica  hierochuntina,  a  native  of 
the  Mediterranean  region,  from  Syria  to  Algeria.  This  plant,  when  grow- 
ing and  in  flower,  has  branches  spread  rigidly,  but  when  the  seed  ripens 
the  leaves  wither,  and  the  whole  plant  becomes  dry.  each  little  branch 
curling  inward  until  the  plant  appears  like  a  small  ball:  it  soon  becomes 
loosened  from  the  soil,  and  is  carried  by  the  winds  over  the  dry  plains,  and 
is  often  blown  into  the  sea,  where  it  at  once  expands.  It  retains  this 
property  of  expanding  when  moistened  for  at  least  ten  years. 

C39.  SEMECARPUS  ANACARDIUM. — The  marking  nut  tree  of  India.  The  thick,  fleshy 
receptacle  bearing  the  fruit  is  of  a  yellow  color  when  ripe,  and  is  roasted 
and  eaten.  The  unripe  fruit  is  employed  in  making  a  kind  of  ink.  The 
hard  shell  of  the  fruit  is  permeated  by  a  corrosive  juice,  which  is  used  on 
external  bruises  and  for  destroying  warts.  The  juice,  when  mixed  with 
quick-lime,  is  used  to  mark  cotton  or  linen  with  an  indelible  mark.  When 
dry  it  forms  a  dark  varnish,  and  among  other  purposes  it  is  employed, 
mixed  with  pitch  and  tar,  in  the  calking  of  ships.  The  seeds,  called 
Malacca  beans,  or  marsh  nuts,  are  eaten,  and  are  said  to  stimulate  the 
mental  powers,  and  especially  the  memory;  and  finally  they  furnish  an  oil 
used  in  painting. 

390.  SERISSA  FCETIDA. — A  cinchonaceous  shrub,  having  strong  astringent  properties. 

The  roots  are  employed  in  cases  of  diarrhea,  also  in  ophthalmia  and 
certain  forms  of  ulcers.  It  is  a  native  of  Japan  and  China. 

391.  SHOREA  ROBUSTA. — This  tree  produces  the  Saul  wood  of  India,  which  has  a 

very  high  reputation,  and  is  extensively  employed  for  all  engineering  pur- 
poses where  great  strength  and  toughness  are  requisite.  It  is  stronger  and 
much  heavier  than  teak.  An  oil  is  obtained  from  the  seeds,  and  a  resin 
similar  to  Dammar  resin  is  likewise  obtained  from  the  tree. 

392.  SID  A  PULCHELLA. — A  plant  of  the  mallow  family;  the  bark  contains  fibrous 

tissues  available  for  the  manufacture  of  cordage.  The  root  of  S.  acuta  is 
esteemed  by  the  Hindoos  as  a  medicine,  and  particularly  as  a  remedy  for 
snake  bites.  The  light  wood  of  these  species  is  used  to  make  rocket  sticks. 

393.  SIM  ABA  CEDRON. — A  native  of  New  Grenada,  where  it  attains  the  size  of  a 

small  tree,  and  bears  a  large  fruit  containing  one  seed;  this  seed,  which 
looks  like  a  blanched  almond,  is  known  in  commerce  as  the  cedron.  As  a 
remedy  for  snake  bites  it  has  been  known  from  time  immemorial  in  New 
Grenada.  It  is  mentioned  in  the  books  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Recently 
it  has  obtained  a  reputation  as  a  febrifuge,  but  its  value  as  an  antidote  to  the 
bites  of  snakes  and  scorpions  is  universally  believed,  and  the  inhabitants 
carry  a  seed  with  them  in  all  their  journey  ings;  if  they  happen  to  be  bitten 
by  any  venomous  reptile  they  scrape  about  two  grains  of  the  seed  in  brandy 
'  or  water  and  apply  it  to  the  wound,  at  the  same  time  taking  a  like  dose 
internally.  This  neutralizes  the  most  dangerous  poisons. 

394.  SIMARUBA  OFPICINALIS. — This  tree  yields  the  drug  known  as  Simaruba  bark, 

which  is,  strictly  speaking,  the  rind  of  the  root.  It  is  a  bitter  tonic.  It  is 
known  in  the  West  Indies  as  the  mountain  damson. 

395.  SIPHONIA  ELASTICA. — The  South  American  rubber  plant,  from  which  a  great 

portion  of  the  caoutchouc  of  commerce  is  obtained.  There  are  several 
species  of  siphonia  which,  equally  with  the  above,  furnish  the  India 
rubber  exported  from  Para.  The  caoutchouc  exists  in  the  tree  in  the  form 
of  a  thin,  white  milk,  which  exudes  from  incisions  made  in  the  trunk,  and 
is  poured  over  molds,  which  were  formerly  shaped  like  jars,  bottles,  or 


39 

shoes,  hence  often  called  bottle  rubber.  As  it  dries,  the  coatings  of  milky 
jni<-H  are  repeated  until  the  required  thickness  is  obtained,  and  the  clay 
mold  removed.  It  belongs  to  the  extensive  family  Euphorbiacece. 

396.  SMILAX  MEDICA. — This  plant  yields  Mexican  sarsaparilla,  so  called  to  distin- 

guish it  from  the  many  other  kinds  of  this  drug.  The  plant  is  a  climber, 
similar  to  the  sniilax  of  our  woods. 

397.  SPONDIAS  MOMBIN. — This  yields  an  eatable  fruit  called  hog  plum  in  the  West 

In-  lies.  The  taste  is  said  to  be  peculiar,  and  not  very  agreeable  tostrangers. 
It  is  chiefly  used  to  fatten  swine.  The  fruit  is  laxative,  the  leaves  as- 
tringent, and  the  seeds  possess  poisonous  qualities.  The  flower  buds  are 
used  as  a  sweetmeat  with  sugar. 

398.  STRELITZIA  REGINA. — A  plant  of  the  Musa  or  banana  family.    The  flowers  are 

very  beautiful  for  the  genus.  It  is  a  native  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
The  seeds  are  gathered  and  eaten  by  the  Kaffirs. 

399.  STRYCHNOS  NUX  VOMICA. — This  is  a  native  of  the  Cpromandel  coast  and 

Cochin-China.  It  bears  an  orange -like  fruit,  containing  seeds  that  have 
an  intensely  bitter  taste,  owing  to  the  presence  of  two  most  energetic  poi- 
sons, strychnine  and  brucine.  The  pulp  surrounding  the  seeds  is  said  to  be 
harmless,  and  greedily  eaten  by  birds.  The  wood  of  the  plant  is  hard  and 
bitter,  and  possesses  similar  properties  to  the  seeds,  but  in  a  less  degree.  It 
is  used  in  India  in  intermittent  fevers  and  in  cases  of  snake  bites.  S.  tiente 
is  a  Java  shrub,  the  juice  of  which  is  used  in  poisoning  arrows.  S.  toxi- 
fera  yields  a  frightful  poison  called  Ourari  or  Wourari,  employed  by  the 
natives  of  Guiana.  This  is  considered  to  be  the  most  potent  sedative  in 
nature.  Several  species  of  Strychnos  are  considered  infallible  remedies  for 
snake  bites;  hence  are  known  as  snakewood.  $.  pseudo-quina,  a  native  of 
Brazil,  yields  Colpache  bark,  which  is  much  used  in  that  country  in  cases  of 
fever,  and  is  considered  equal  to  quinine  in  value.  It  does  not  contain 
strychnine,  and  its  fruits  are  edible.  S.  potatorum  furnishes  seeds  known 
in  India  as  clearing-nuts,  on  account  of  their  use  in  clearing  muddy  water. 
St.  Ignatius  beans  are  supposed  t  j  be  yielded  by  a  species  of  Strychnos, 
from  the  quantity  of  strychnine  contained  in  the  seeds. 

400.  SWIETENIA   MAHAGONI. — This  South  American  plant  furnishes  the  timber 

known  in  commerce  as  mahogany.  The  bark  is  considered  a  febrifuge, 
and  the  seeds  prepared  with  oil  were  used  by  the  ancient  Aztecs  as  a  cos- 
metic. The  timber  is  well  known,  and  much  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
furniture. 

401.  TACCA  PINNATIFIDA. — This  is   sometimes  called  South  Sea  arrowroot.     The 

tubers  contain  a  great  amount  of  starch,  which  is  obtained  by  rasping 
them  and  macerating  four  or  five  days  in  water,  when  the  fecula  separates 
in  the  same  manner  as  sago.  It  is  largely  used  as  an  article  of  diet 
throughout  the  tropics,  and  is  a  favorite  ingredient  for  puddings  and  cakes. 

402.  TAMARINDUS  INDICA. — The  tamarind  tree.     There  are  two  varieties  of  this 

species.  The  East  Indian  variety  has  long  pods,  with  six  to  twelve  seeds. 
The  variety  cultivated  in  the  West  Indies  has  shorter  pods,  containing  one 
to  four  seeds.  Tamarinds  owe  their  grateful  acidity  to  the  presence  of 
citric,  tartaric,  and  other  vegetable  acids.  The  pulp  mixed  with  salt  is 
used  for  a  liniment  by  the  Creoles  of  the  Mauritius.  Every  part  of  the 
plant  has  had  medicinal  virtues  ascribed  to  it.  Fish  pickled  with  tama- 
rinds are  considered  a  great  delicacv.  It  is  said  that  the  acid  moisture 
exhaled  by  the  leaves  injures  the  cloth  of  tents  that  remain  under  them 
for  any  length  of  time.  It  is  also  considered  unsafe  to  sleep  under  the 
trees. 

403.  TANGHINIA  VENENIFERA. — This  plant  is  a  native  of  Madagascar,  and  of  the 

family  Apocynacece.  Formerly,  when  the  custom  of  trial  by  ordeal  was 
more  prevalent  than  now,  the  seeds  of  this  plant  were  in  great  repute,  and 
unlimited  confidence  was  placed  in  the  poisonous  seeds  as  a  detector  of 
guilt.  The  seeds  were  pounded,  and  a  small  piece  swallowed  by  each  per- 
son to  be  tried;  those  in  whom  it  caused  vomiting  were  allowed  to  escape, 
but  when  it  was  retained  in  the  stomach,  it  would  quickly  prove  fatal,  and 
their  guilt  was  thus  held  to  be  proven. 

404.  TASMANNIA  AROMATICA.— The  bark  of  this  plant  possesses  aromatic  qualities, 

closely  resembling  Winter's  bark.  The  small  black  fruits  are  used  as  a 
substitute  for  pepper. 


40 

405.  TECTONA  GRANDIS. — The  teak  tree.    Teak  wood  has  been  extensively  employed 

for  shipbuilding  in  the  construction  of  merchant  vessels  and  ships  of  war; 
its  great  strength  and  durability,  the  facility  with  which  it  can  be  worked, 
and  its  freedom  from  injury  by  fungi,  rendering  it  peculiarly  suitable  for 
these  purposes.  It  is  a  native  of  the  East  India  Islands,  and  belongs  to  the 
order  Verbenacece. 

406.  TERMINALIA  CATAPPA. — The  astringent  fruits  of  this  tropical  plant  are  employed 

for  tanning  and  dyeing,  and  are  sometimes  met  with  in  commerce  under 
the  name  of  myrobalans,  and  used  by  calico  printers  for  the  production  of 
a  permanent  black.  The  seeds  are  like  almonds  in  shape  and  whiteness, 
but,  although  palatable,  have  a  peculiar  flavor. 

407.  TETRANTHERA  LAURIFOLIA.— This  plant  is  widely  dispersed  over  tropical  Asia 

and  the  islands  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  Its  leaves  and  young  branches 
abound  in  a  viscid  juice,  and  in  Cpchin-China  the  natives  bruise  and  mace- 
rate them  until  this  becomes  glutinous,  when  it  is  used  for  mixing  with 
plaster,  to  thicken  and  render  it  more  adhesive  and  durable.  Its  fruits 
yield  a  solid  fat,  used  for  making  candles,  although  it  has  a  most  disagree- 
able odor. 

408.  THE  A  VIRIDIS. — This  is  the  China  tea  plant,  whose  native  country  is  undeter- 

mined. All  kinds  and  grades  of  the  teas  of  commerce  are  made  from 
this  species,  although  probably  it  has  some  varieties.  Black  and  green 
teas  are  the  result  of  different  modes  of  preparation;  very  much  of  the 
green,  however,  is  artificially  colored  to  suit  the  foreign  trade.  The  finest 
teas  do  riot  reach  this  country;  they  will  not  bear  a  sea  voyage,  and  are 
used  only  by  the  wealthy  classes  in  China  and  Russia.  The  active  princi- 
ples of  the  leaves  are  theine  and  a  volatile  oil,  to  which  latter  the  flavor  and 
odor  are  due.  So  far  as  climate  is  concerned  for  the  existence  of  the  tea 
plant  in  the  United  States,  it  will  stand  in  the  open  air  without  injury 
from  Virginia  southwards.  A  zero  frost  will  not  kill  it.  But  with  regard 
to  its  production  as  a  profitable  crop,  the  rainfall  in  no  portion  of  the  States 
is  sufficient  to  warrant  any  attempt  to  cultivate  the  plant  for  commercial 
purposes.  But  this  does  not  prevent  its  culture  as  a  domestic  article,  and 
many  hundreds  of  families  thus  prepare  all  the  tea  they  require,  from 
plants  it  may  be  from  the  pleasure  ground  or  lawn,  where  the  plant  forms 
one  of  the  best  ornaments. 

409.  THEOBROMA  CACAO. — This  plant  produces  the  well-known  cacao,  or  chocolate, 

and  is  very  extensively  cultivated  in  South  America  and  the  West  India 
Islands.  The  fruit,  which  is  about  8  to  10  inches  in  length  by  3  to  5  in 
breadth, contains  between  fifty  and  a  hundred  seeds,  and  from  these  the  cacao 
is  prepared.  As  an  article  of  food  it  contains  a  large  amount  of  nutritive 
matter,  about  50  per  cent  being  fat.  It  contains  a  peculiar  principle, 
which  is  called  theobromine. 

410.  THEOPHRASTA  JUSSI^EI. — A  native  of    St.  Domingo,  where  it  is  sometimes 

called  Le  petit  Coca.     The  fruit  is  succulent,  and  bread  is  made  from  the 


411.  THESPESIA  POPULNEA. — A  tropical  tree,  belonging  to  the  mallow  family.    The 

inner  bark  of  the  young  branches  yields  a  tough  fiber,  fit  for  cordage,  and 
used  in  Demerara  for  making  coffee  bags,  and  the  finer  pieces  of  it  for  cigar 
envelopes.  The  wood  is  considered  almost  indestructible  under  water,  and 
its  hardness  and  durability  render  it  valuable  for  various  purposes.  The 
flower  buds  and  unripe  fruits  yield  a  viscid  yellow  juice,  useful  as  a  dye, 
and  a  thick,  deep,  red-colored  oil  is  expressed  from  the  seeds. 

412.  THEVETIA   NERIIFOLIA. — This  shrubby  plant  is  common  in  the  West  Indies 

and  in  many  parts  of  Central  America.  Its  bark  abounds  in  a  poisonous 
milky  juice,  and  is  said  to  possess  powerful  properties.  A  clear,  bright, 
yellow-colored  oil,  called  Exile  oil,  is  obtained,  by  expression,  from  the 


413.  THRINAX  ARQENTEA. — This  beautiful  palm  is  called  the  Silver  Thatch  palm 

of  Jamaica,  and  is  said  to  yield  the  leaves  so  extensively  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  hats,  baskets,  and  other  articles.  It  is  also  a  native  of  Panama, 
where  it  is  called  the  broom  palm,  its  leaves  being  there  made  into  brooms. 

414.  TILLANDSIA  ZEBRINA. — A  South  American  plant  of  the  pineapple  family;  the 

bottle-like  cavity  at  the  base  of  the  leaves  will  sometimes  contain  a  pint  or 
more  of  water,  and  has  frequently  furnished  a  grateful  drink  to  thirsty 
travelers. 


41 

415.  TINOSPORA  CORDIFOLIA. — A  climbing  plant,  so  tenacious  of  life  that  when 

tlu-  stem  is  cut  across  or  broken,  a  rootlet  is  speedily  sent  down  from  above, 
which  continues  to  grow  until  it  reaches  the  ground.  A  bitter  principle, 
calumbine,  pervades  the  plant.  An  extract  called  galuncha  is  prepared 
from  it,  considered  to  be  a  specific  for  the  bites  of  posionous  insects  and  for 
ulcers.  The  young  shoots  are  used  as  emetics. 

416.  TRIPHASIA  TRIFOLIATA. — A  Chinese  shrub,  with  fmit  about  the  size  of  hazel- 

nuts,  red-skinned,  and  of  an  agreeable  sweet  taste;  when  green,  they  have 
a  strong  flavor  of  turpentine,  and  the  pulp  is  very  sticky.  They  are  also 
preserved  whole  in  sirup,  and  are  sometimes  called  linieberries. 

417.  TRISTANIA  NERIFOLIA. — A  myrtaceous  plant  from  Australia,  called  the  tur- 

pentine tree,  owing  to  its  furnishing  a  fluid  resembling  that  product. 

418.  URCEOLA  ELASTICA. — A  plant  belonging  to  the  Apocynacece,  a  native  of  the 

islands  of  Borneo  and  Sumatra,  where  its  milky  juice,  collected  by  making 
incisions  in  its  soft,  thick,  rugged  bark,  or  by  cutting  the  trunk  into  junks, 
forms  one  of  the  kinds  of  caoutchouc  called  juitawan,  but  it  is  inferior  to 
the  South  American,  chiefly  owing  to  want  of  care  in  its  preparation,  the 
milky  juice  being  simply  coagulated  by  mixing  wdth  salt  water,  instead  of 
being  gradually  inspissated  in  layers  on  a  mold.  The  fruit  contains  a  pulp 
which  is  much  eaten  by  the  natives. 

419.  URENA  LOBATA. — A  malvaceous  plant,  possessing  mucilaginous  properties,  for 

which  it  is  used  medicinally.  The  bark  affords  an  abundance  of  fiber,  re- 
sembling jute  rather  than  flax  or  hemp. 

420.  UVARIA  ODORATISSIMA. — An  Indian  plant  which  is  supposed  to  yield  the  essen- 

tial oil  called  Ylang-Ylang,  or  Alan-gilan.  This  oil  is  obtained  by  distillation 
from  the  flowers,  and  is  highly  esteemed  by  perfumers,  having  an  exquisite 
odor  partaking  of  the  jasmine  and  lilac. 

421.  VANGUERIA  EDULIS. — A  cinchonaceous  plant,  the  fruits  of  which  are  eaten  in 

Madagascar  under  the  name  of  Voa-vanga.  The  leaves  are  used  in  medi- 
cine. 

422.  VANILLA  PLAXIFOLIA. — The  vanilla  plant,  which  belongs  to  the  orchid  family. 

The  fruit  is  used  by  confectioners  and  others  for  flavoring  creams,  liquors, 
and  chocolates.  There  are  several  species,  but  this  gives  the  finest  fruit.  It 
is  a  climbing  orchid,  and  is  allowed  to  climb  on  trees  when  cultivated  for  its 
fruit.  In  Mexico,  from  whence  is  procured  a  large  portion  of  the  fruit,  it 
is  cultivated  in  certain  favorable  localities  near  the  Gulf  coast,  where  the 
climate  is  warm.  Much  of  the  value  of  the  bean  depends  upon  the  process 
of  its  preparation  for  the  market.  In  Mexico,  where  much  care  is  given  to 
this  process,  the  pods  are  gathered  before  they  are  fully  ripe  and  placed  in 
a  heap,  under  protection  from  the  weather,  until  they  begin  to  shrivel,  when 
they  are  submitted  to  a  sweating  process  by  wrapping  them  in  blankets  in- 
closed in  tight  boxes;  afterwards  they  are  exposed  to  the  sun.  They  are 
then  tied  into  bundles  or  small  bales,  which  are  first  wrapped  in  woolen 
blankets,  then  in  a  coating  of  banana  leaves  first  sprinkled  with  water,  then 

E laced  in  an  oven  heated  up  to  about  140°  F.     Here  they  remain  for  twenty- 
Kir  to  forty -eight  hours,  according  to  the  size  of  the  pods,  the  largest  re- 
quiring the  longest  tune.     After  this  heating  they  are  exposed  to  the  sun 
daily  for  fifty  or  sixty  days,  until  they  are  thoroughly  dried  and  ready  for 
.     the  market. 

423.  VATERIA  IXDICA.— This  plant  yields  a  useful  gum  resin,  called  Indian  copal, 

piney  varnish,  white  dammar,  or  gumanine.  The  resin  is  procured  by  cut- 
ting a  notch  in  the  tree,  so  that  the  juice  may  flow  out  and  become  hardened. 
It  is  used  as  a  varnish  for  pictures,  carriages,  etc.  On  the  Malabar  coast  it 
'  is  manufactured  into  candles,  which  burn  with  a  clear  light  and  an  agree- 
able fragrance.  The  Portuguese  employ  this  resin  instead  of  incense.  Orna- 
ments are  fashioned  from  it  under  the  name  of  amber.  It  is  also  employed 
in  medicine. 

424.  WEINMANNIA  RACEMOSA.— A  New  Zealand  tree  called  Towhia  by  the  natives 

of  that  country.  Its  bark  is  used  for  tanning  purposes,  and  as  a  red  and 
brown  dye,  which  give  fast  colors  upon  cotton  fabrics. 

425.  WRIGHTIA  TIXCTORIA.— The  leaves  of  this  plant  furnish  an  inferior  kind  of  in- 

digo. The  wood  is  beautifully  white,  close-grained,  and  ivory-like,  and  is 
much  used  for  making  Indian  toys. 

426.  XANTHORRHCEA  ARBOREA. — The  grass  gum  tree  of  Australia,  also  called  black 

boy.     This  is  a  liliaceous  plant,  which  produces  a  long  flower-stalk,  bear- 
ing at  the  top  an  immense  cylindrical  flower-spike,  and  when  the  short 
28582 4 


42 

black  stem  is  denuded  of  leaves,  the  plants  look  very  like  black  men  hold- 
ing spears.  The  leaves  afford  good  fodder  for  cattle,  and  the  tender  white 
center  is  used  as  a  vegetable.  A  fragrant  resin,  called  acaroid  resin,  is  ob- 
tained from  it. 

427.  XIMENIA    AMERICANA.— A  small  tree,  found  in  many  warm  regions;  among 

others  in  southern  Florida.  In  Brazil  it  is  called  the  Native  Plum  on 
account  of  its  small  yellow  fruits,  which  have  a  subacid  and  somewhat 
astringent  aromatic  taste.  The  wood  is  odoriferous  and  is  used  in  the  West 
Indies  as  a  substitute  for  sandalwood. 

428.  YUCCA  ALCEFOLIA. — The  yucca  leaves  afford  a  good  fiber,  and  some  southern 

species  are  known  as  bear's  grass.  The  root  stems  also  furnish  a  starchy 
matter,  which  has  been  rendered  useful  in  the  manufacture  of  starch. 

429.  ZAMIA  FURFURACEA. — This  plant  belongs  to  the  order  Cycadeacece,  and  is 

grown  to  some  extent  for  the  starchy  matter  contained  in  the  stem,  which 
is  collected  and  used  as  arrowroot;  but  it  is  not  the  true  arrowroot,  that 
being  produced  by  a  species  of  Maranta. 

430.  ZAMIA  INTEGRIFOLIA. — The  coontie  plant  of  Florida.     The  large  succulent 

roots  afford  a  quantity  of  arrowroot,  said  to  be  equal  to  the  best  of  that 
from  Bermuda.  The  fruit  has  a  coating  of  an  orange-colored  pulp,  which 
is  said  to  form  a  rich  edible  food.  It  was  from  the  roots  of  this  plant  that 
the  Seminoles  of  Florida  obtained  their  white  meal. 

431.  ZINGIBER  OFFICINALE. — This  plant  is  cultivated  in  most  warm  countries  for 

the  sake  of  its  rhizomes,  which  furnish  the  spice  called  ginger .  It  is  pre- 
pared by  digging  up  the  roots  when  a  year  old,  scraping  them,  and  drying 
them  in  the  sun.  Ginger,  when  broken  across,  shows  a  number  of  little 
fibers  embedded  in  floury  tissue.  Its  hot  pungent  taste  is  due  to  a  volatile 
oil.  It  also  contains  starch  and  yellow  coloring  matter.  Ginger  is  used 
for  various  medicinal  purposes,  and  in  many  ways  as  a  condiment,  and  in 
the  preparation  of  cordials  and  so-called  teas. 


UNIVEESTTY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBEAEY, 
BERKELEY 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

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to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


DEC  24 1924 


lOApr'Sfl.if 


15m4,"24 


YC  60271 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


